You know, sometimes you forget just how good - how superbly wonderful - The Beatles were, especially if you haven't listened to them in a while.
Sgt Pepper's - a little over half a century old, it was released in 1967 - is ageless. And brilliant.
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What are you listening to? Part III
- Thread starter S.B.G
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You know, sometimes you forget just how good - how superbly wonderful - The Beatles were, especially if you haven't listened to them in a while.
Sgt Pepper's - a little over half a century old, it was released in 1967 - is ageless. And brilliant.
Just listen to "A Day In The Life", a brilliant song; the lyrics, the song, the ambience - damn it, even the drums - timing, execution, rhythm - are flawless and simply stunning as the song commences with the sentence, "I heard the news today, oh boy......About a lucky man who made the grade" (you think this will go well, but it doesn't), "And though the news was rather sad...", yes, you think it could be, as the song continues, ironically, when the singer stated that he, "well, I just had to laugh", remarking that he "saw the photograph" - adding, even more ironically "he blew his mind out in a car" - and this - not before - is where the key changes and the drums subtly and powerfully signal that something of importance has happened - "he didn't notice that the lights had changed".
The story continues, beyond telling you that "a crowd of people stood and stared", the next drum roll reminding you why this was important: "They'd seen his face before, nobody was really sure if he was from the House of Lords."
As a commentary on the English class system, this was as subtle and as powerful as anything in music expressed during that decade, or later.
The story continues, beyond telling you that "a crowd of people stood and stared", the next drum roll reminding you why this was important: "They'd seen his face before, nobody was really sure if he was from the House of Lords."
As a commentary on the English class system, this was as subtle and as powerful as anything in music expressed during that decade, or later.
I saw these guys perform live in 2011 or 2012 at a small venue here, and hadn't heard a note of their music before that. The surprise was a pretty big one, as the line up that night was a bit more "modern", perhaps, than the style of music Midlake play. Best show of the evening for sure, and this song specifically still pops up in my head from time to time even now, almost ten years later. They have a nice folk-rockish sound that harkens back to the 60's/70's, which is never a bad thing.
Fun fact: For the longest time, for some reason, I thought these guys were from Estonia. Don't ask me how I arrived at that conclusion, but they're actually from Texas.
Fun fact: For the longest time, for some reason, I thought these guys were from Estonia. Don't ask me how I arrived at that conclusion, but they're actually from Texas.
Earlier as I mowed the lawn it was Blur, Pulp, Robbie Williams and the Cranberries.
Tedeschi Trucks Band, fourth studio album, Signs. Outstanding.
What a fabulous album sleeve; what is the music like?
[doublepost=1559472625][/doublepost]I just looked them up (I must say that the internet is fantastic for this: You don't know something, a strange ingredient in a recipe, an album or group you haven't heard of, an event you want more details about) and, instead of waiting for a library to open, or ransacking an out of date encyclopaedia, you simply look it up online - as a child, I'd ask my parents, and they'd answer if they knew about what I had asked, or would direct me to a book, or would buy me the book if a library didn't have it - and your curiosity is satisfied. What an amazing resource and tool).
Reading about them, they sound absolutely fascinating.
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The Waterboys - "Where the Action Is" Mike Scott is one fine writer.
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Excellent album. Great feel to it. I was not as keen on their output after this one but just my personal view.
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Excellent album. Great feel to it. I was not as keen on their output after this one but just my personal view.
The Waterboys (and Mike Scott) are brilliant.
Actually, I have all of their early albums (on vinyl).
Following the Waterboys is Robyn Hitchcock with "Sunday Never Comes" and "Take Off Your Bandages" which I assume are teasers for a soon to be released new album. I have only recently been delving into Robyn's material and I am pleased so far.
[doublepost=1559478327][/doublepost]The recently released "Stay Around" by JJ Cale. He is really missed. What a great sound he had. I was lucky to see him live in Montreal a number of years ago. Great times.
[doublepost=1559478327][/doublepost]The recently released "Stay Around" by JJ Cale. He is really missed. What a great sound he had. I was lucky to see him live in Montreal a number of years ago. Great times.
Love so many of his songs. One of my brothers saw him perform out west somewhere. Said the show was great, Cale very professional but low key, not standoffish, just a little shy and completely unassuming: he got off the bus, said hey, did a sound check, did the show, hung around and talked with anybody wanted to talk with him, got back on the bus and took off. The bro said it was sort of like how a video would have looked if Cale made one for If You're Ever in Oklahoma (from the Really album):
f you're ever in Oklahoma
You better move around at night
'Cause they don't like no transportation
Slipping by in-and-out of sight...
You better move around at night
'Cause they don't like no transportation
Slipping by in-and-out of sight...
Back to 1974 in Quebec with the self titled debut album from Harmonium. What a beautiful musical experience.
Yeah I haven't honestly listened to much else from them, apart from a couple of songs here and there, so I can't really say. The Trials of Van Occupanther, though, is a great album like you said.
Still about an hour until the sun sets in Espoo as the atmospheric John Martyn's "Solid Air" wafts through the house...
Reminds me somehow of Lisa Gerrard & Peter Bourke in Sacrifice ( from OST of The Insider).. but there's no little break for a nice French horn solo in the unrelenting suffering of Sacrifice...
That song has a bit more orchestral sound perhaps, but sure, some elements (especially the vocals in the beginning) bring DCD to mind. I always liked the Halo soundtracks, as well as the games. It's been years since I last played pretty much anything on a console, but Halo was one of the favorites back then.
Can't sleep, so going through the ol' CD cabinet. Came upon an album I hadn't listened to in ages, one that struck a chord with me when it came out in 2006. Being pretty fond of Anathema, the name Duncan Patterson was the thing that first caught my interest in regards to this band, it's a good thing it turned out that the album is absolutely brilliant.
Nice - cool - love some of the Anathema stuff - never heard that one - thanks!
Edit - OK - not Anathema - my bad - very cool song !
Abbey Road - courtesy of a Liverpool group known to music, history and the world as The Beatles.
Too cold to work outside on gardening today, so I've been having fun sampling assorted versions of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana (complete) available online, including Jeanne Pierre Ponnelle's filmed dramatization of it. The video was was made in 1975 with the full cooperation of the composer, for a celebration of Orff's 80th birthday. Its exhibition was banned in at least Germany for quite awhile after its production. You will not want to watch this one at work. The texts of the original Carmina Burana are after all mostly a bawdy satire of what was said to be going on at medieval monasteries besides prayer and the illumination of sacred scripture... and this video is a dramatization, not a recital of the music.
Familiarity in advance with the texts of Carmina Burana helps to fully appreciate the Ponnelle video, even if it's fairly clear what's going on in most of it. Anyway it makes even the most lascivious-sounding solos of all the Carmina Burana concert performances seem staid in comparison. I thought the roasted cygnet portrayal was fairly scandalous but on a re-watch I'd probably save my shockability for later on.
Among my favorite full concert performances of Carmina Burana available over the internet on video is this one, uploaded from a VHS to DVD transfer of the 1994 BBC Proms performance. There are some audio pops and the video was reduced somewhat for the upload but it's quite wonderful to have this available. Also there are some English subtitles if just immersing oneself in the music is not enough...
Here's another excellent video of a live performance, this done in Antwerp in 2011
Familiarity in advance with the texts of Carmina Burana helps to fully appreciate the Ponnelle video, even if it's fairly clear what's going on in most of it. Anyway it makes even the most lascivious-sounding solos of all the Carmina Burana concert performances seem staid in comparison. I thought the roasted cygnet portrayal was fairly scandalous but on a re-watch I'd probably save my shockability for later on.
Among my favorite full concert performances of Carmina Burana available over the internet on video is this one, uploaded from a VHS to DVD transfer of the 1994 BBC Proms performance. There are some audio pops and the video was reduced somewhat for the upload but it's quite wonderful to have this available. Also there are some English subtitles if just immersing oneself in the music is not enough...
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A piece of music I love; great choice and a brilliant idea to offer (and share with us) differing interpretations of this piece.