IdRatherBeSkiing
Sherbert is NOT and NEVER WILL BE ice cream.
I like the same songs you do although I have forgotten about "I’m Just a Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band)". I also don't like the soliloquy at the end of "Night in White Satin".
Scotch Sampler
- Thread starter scotchandcigar
- Start date
scotchandcigar
All I wanted was some steak
That song has been overplayed to the point where I don't think it's worth posting here. The ending was novel in its time (especially when stoned), but has lost its magical quality over the years.
sadchild
Dude
I, for one, enjoyed being exposed to many of your 2010s music choices - even if your music tastes lean more Alt Nation/XMU whereas I'm more Turbo/Octane. I still liked it. So thank you!
I was just thinking about Moody Blues recently and how impressive I think it is that they continued to stay relevant in the 60s 70s and 80s, evolving from "Go Now" to "Nights In White Satin" to "I'm Just A Singer" to "The Voice" to "Sitting At The Wheel" to "Your Wildest Dreams".
I was just thinking about Moody Blues recently and how impressive I think it is that they continued to stay relevant in the 60s 70s and 80s, evolving from "Go Now" to "Nights In White Satin" to "I'm Just A Singer" to "The Voice" to "Sitting At The Wheel" to "Your Wildest Dreams".
Aaron
Moderator
Agreed. The Moody Blues really had a long run of success.
I still like the ending to Nights in White Satin.
HecticArt
Administrator
Same here. There's always a lot of great stuff to take in even if I don't comment.
IdRatherBeSkiing
Sherbert is NOT and NEVER WILL BE ice cream.
I enjoyed the exposure to your music too. I found a couple songs I really liked.
scotchandcigar
All I wanted was some steak
scotchandcigar
All I wanted was some steak
The next artist I skipped the 1st time around is Simon & Garfunkel. I thought if I started including every singer-songwriter I liked, I'd never get done. And maybe that was a good idea, but I'd like to cover some of them now - especially the big influencers.
Certainly, they were big influencers. Paul Simon should be listed among the top singer-songwriters. His melodies, lyrics, and performance capabilities are in a league of their own. For me, it began with the profound, solemn, yet intense 1965 hit, The Sound of Silence. It's lyrics were riffed upon in Rush's Spirit of Radio. And here, it's presented in a great cover version
Disturbed – The Sound of Silence (live on Conan)
What's funny is that I skimmed though the hundreds of comments, all remarking on the life-changing effect of that performance. Yet not one of them mentions the heavy use of auto-tune, that I immediately picked-up on. Oh, well.
In '66 through '68 we got Homeward Bound, I Am a Rock, A Hazy Shade of Winter, Scarborough Fair, and this widely covered tune
Lemonheads - Mrs. Robinson
Then '69 through '70 gave us The Boxer, and this funky song, with a great use of percussion
Simon & Garfunkel - Cecilia
In '71 and '72 they gave us The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy), plus a tune that's become a favorite for many artists
Simon & Garfunkel – America (live on Letterman)
Although they would release My Little Town in 1975, the duo were done by '72. That's when Paul Simon released the hits Me and Julio (Down by the Schoolyard), and in the following year, this song with memorable lyrics
1973 Simon & Garfunkel - Kodachrome
Of course, Simon had a fantastic run of hits after that, which I covered in my original list.
Certainly, they were big influencers. Paul Simon should be listed among the top singer-songwriters. His melodies, lyrics, and performance capabilities are in a league of their own. For me, it began with the profound, solemn, yet intense 1965 hit, The Sound of Silence. It's lyrics were riffed upon in Rush's Spirit of Radio. And here, it's presented in a great cover version
Disturbed – The Sound of Silence (live on Conan)
What's funny is that I skimmed though the hundreds of comments, all remarking on the life-changing effect of that performance. Yet not one of them mentions the heavy use of auto-tune, that I immediately picked-up on. Oh, well.
In '66 through '68 we got Homeward Bound, I Am a Rock, A Hazy Shade of Winter, Scarborough Fair, and this widely covered tune
Lemonheads - Mrs. Robinson
Then '69 through '70 gave us The Boxer, and this funky song, with a great use of percussion
Simon & Garfunkel - Cecilia
In '71 and '72 they gave us The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy), plus a tune that's become a favorite for many artists
Simon & Garfunkel – America (live on Letterman)
Although they would release My Little Town in 1975, the duo were done by '72. That's when Paul Simon released the hits Me and Julio (Down by the Schoolyard), and in the following year, this song with memorable lyrics
1973 Simon & Garfunkel - Kodachrome
Of course, Simon had a fantastic run of hits after that, which I covered in my original list.
sadchild
Dude
Over 2 minutes in and I've only heard one instance I suspect? Guess I'm not 'in tune' to it...
scotchandcigar
All I wanted was some steak
I find it's readily noticeable at 1:14 and 1:25. There's an obvious big one at 2:09, then 2:32 and 2:45. And then from 2:50 on, it's always there.
If you're looking for that jumping effect (like 2:09) as an indicator of it, that's not the way it works. The jump is caused by auto-tune, but the use of auto-tune processing is intended to force stable pitches to be in tune, and that causes a synthetic overtone to the voice, as if someone is singing along to a Yamaha synthesizer. So that's mostly what I hear.
If you listen to Kanye intentionally playing with heavy auto-tune, he does the scaling/jumping thing, but it mainly causes the stable pitches to sound more like a synth than a human voice. Other people who come to mind for having gone overboard with auto-tune, are Art Garfunkel and Sting (both in recent years).
HecticArt
Administrator
So.OK now you're just trying to butter me up.
Aaron
Moderator
Simon & Garfunkel are an all-time favorite of mine. But I do agree with the common assessment that they were sometimes overproduced. I feel sometimes the drums are a little too prominent in the mix for an acoustic folk rock duo.
Bridge over Troubled Water is my pick as their best album, but you could make a case for a few others.
Bridge over Troubled Water is my pick as their best album, but you could make a case for a few others.
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scotchandcigar
All I wanted was some steak
As I've mentioned many times, my older brother - the trumpet player - introduced me to music. And even before I got hooked onto the first of 3 seminal Chicago albums, he got me into Blood, Sweat & Tears. Their eponymous 2nd album was released at the end of 1968. It eventually went quadruple platinum, and won the Grammy for Album of the Year.
They were the right group of musicians at the right time, moving instrumental jazz into the realm of rock, fronted by the iconic voice of David Clayton-Thomas. Much of the album consists of reworked cover songs; it opens with Variations on a Theme by Erik Satie, which is then interrupted by this funky cover of a song by Traffic
Everything about this clip is otherworldly - from the look, to the odd mid-song interlude - but the performance is amazing
Blood, Sweat & Tears - Smiling Phases (live on the Ed Sullivan Show)
Other reworked covers include the Peter, Paul and Mary song And When I Die, and the Billie Holiday classic God Bless the Child. But this hit is an original
Blood, Sweat & Tears - Spinning Wheel
Also a hit was this piece, that had been recently released by Berry Gordy Jr. and Brenda Holloway. It was part of BS&T's set at Woodstock - yes, that Woodstock
Blood, Sweat & Tears - You’ve Made Me So Very Happy (live audio from Woodstock)
The album closes with the extended jam, Blues - Part II, which interpolates Cream's Sunshine of Your Love (among others).
Their follow-up album, BS&T 3, began their decline. It contained moderate hits Hi-De-Ho and Lucretia MacEvil, plus a lot of cloying covers. BS&T 4 had the lone hit Go Down Gamblin', and then the original lineup disbanded.
They were the right group of musicians at the right time, moving instrumental jazz into the realm of rock, fronted by the iconic voice of David Clayton-Thomas. Much of the album consists of reworked cover songs; it opens with Variations on a Theme by Erik Satie, which is then interrupted by this funky cover of a song by Traffic
Everything about this clip is otherworldly - from the look, to the odd mid-song interlude - but the performance is amazing
Blood, Sweat & Tears - Smiling Phases (live on the Ed Sullivan Show)
Other reworked covers include the Peter, Paul and Mary song And When I Die, and the Billie Holiday classic God Bless the Child. But this hit is an original
Blood, Sweat & Tears - Spinning Wheel
Also a hit was this piece, that had been recently released by Berry Gordy Jr. and Brenda Holloway. It was part of BS&T's set at Woodstock - yes, that Woodstock
Blood, Sweat & Tears - You’ve Made Me So Very Happy (live audio from Woodstock)
The album closes with the extended jam, Blues - Part II, which interpolates Cream's Sunshine of Your Love (among others).
Their follow-up album, BS&T 3, began their decline. It contained moderate hits Hi-De-Ho and Lucretia MacEvil, plus a lot of cloying covers. BS&T 4 had the lone hit Go Down Gamblin', and then the original lineup disbanded.
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sadchild
Dude
Don't know much about them, not really getting into their sound. But it's obvious they're quite talented and have their own unique sound.
Except for "You Made Me So" which I recognize from my childhood. I've always found the pre-chorus and chorus to be very powerful! If Tori Amos were to ask me what song she should cover next (just voice and piano like she did with "Thank You" "Angie" "Famous Blue Raincoat" "A Case Of You" "Teen Spirit" and so many other b-sides), I would love to hear her do that one. I think she could knock it out of the park.
Except for "You Made Me So" which I recognize from my childhood. I've always found the pre-chorus and chorus to be very powerful! If Tori Amos were to ask me what song she should cover next (just voice and piano like she did with "Thank You" "Angie" "Famous Blue Raincoat" "A Case Of You" "Teen Spirit" and so many other b-sides), I would love to hear her do that one. I think she could knock it out of the park.
scotchandcigar
All I wanted was some steak
For those of you keeping track of my stereo equipment list, I made an update. Following an extended period of non-usage, I fired it up a week ago, and the Adcom line conditioner (the thing everything's plugged into) started making a high pitched hum. I'm guessing some internal corrosion was going on. I temporarily used a power strip to make sure the other stuff was still ok.
Fortunately, it's not an expensive thing to replace. It acts as a power strip, and it also has relay-switched outputs, plus EMI and RF filtering of the power coming in. There's a fused circuit breaker in case of a short circuit or surge.
I found that this Furman unit was highly recommended, and at $69 (heh), I ordered it.
It came very nicely packaged, and appears to be a high quality piece. And it does the job. It's also an excuse to sit and listen to some music. I played the entire Courtney Barnett debut double EP (A Sea of Split Peas), and it was glorious. A lot of it sounds like it was single-mic recorded (non multi-track). Anyway, listening to the old rig is always a pleasant surprise.
HecticArt
Administrator
I always thought they were kind of cheesy back in my youth, but they really grew on me. That big sound topped with that huge voice works for me.
The guy from Ides of March has that same big, confident, powerful voice going on too. Those guys are a OHW, and maybe less since everyone thinks they are BS&T.
scotchandcigar
All I wanted was some steak
One of the great bands from the late 60's/ early 70's era that doesn't get enough mention is The Guess Who. The Canadian group, led by Burton Cummings, created some really catchy, original songs, with interesting themes. They generated many memorable guitar riffs, their songs were full of great harmonies, and Cummings had an iconic rock front-man voice.
Their early hits came out in 1969, with softer, jazzier tunes such as These Eyes, Laughing, and this one, which even features Cummings on flute
The Guess Who – Undun (live)
This classic has more of a rock sound, and a great guitar riff
The Guess Who – No Time (live)
In 1970, they cranked out the hits, with No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature, and all these
The Guess Who – American Woman
The Guess Who – Hand Me Down World (live)
The Guess Who – Share the Land (live)
They had some later hits, but those are my favorites from them.
Their early hits came out in 1969, with softer, jazzier tunes such as These Eyes, Laughing, and this one, which even features Cummings on flute
The Guess Who – Undun (live)
This classic has more of a rock sound, and a great guitar riff
The Guess Who – No Time (live)
In 1970, they cranked out the hits, with No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature, and all these
The Guess Who – American Woman
The Guess Who – Hand Me Down World (live)
The Guess Who – Share the Land (live)
They had some later hits, but those are my favorites from them.