Fantaverse Top 100 Albums Of All Time (Thread #10) #10-#2

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JohnErle
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Re: Fantaverse Top 100 Albums Of All Time (Thread #10) #10-#

Post by JohnErle »

numbersix wrote: John E: You Steve Earle fanboy.
I have not yet begun to fanboy.

Surfer, when we do our #1s do you want us to send them to you in advance or post them ourselves to surprise you?

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Re: Fantaverse Top 100 Albums Of All Time (Thread #10) #10-#

Post by silversurfer19 »

I think you can all post your own, adds to the mystery a little. I'll post my pick first, as I expect to be able to do so on the 19th April (my birthday), as long as I can get the rest of everyone's picks in during the next day or so (you know who you are, it's just two more picks, guys and then that's it for submissions...).

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Re: Fantaverse Top 100 Albums Of All Time (Thread #10) #10-#

Post by silversurfer19 »

Still waiting on no.3 from ozzy, Geezer and Ron.

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Re: Fantaverse Top 100 Albums Of All Time (Thread #10) #10-#

Post by silversurfer19 »

Album No.3

englishozzy
To Be Added At A Later Date

Geezer
To Be Added At A Later Date

JohnErle
The Pogues, "If I Should Fall From Grace With God"
, 1988

Image

The Pogues were essentially a fusion of traditional Celtic music and the punk roots of Shane MacGowan and Spider Stacy, which makes them a band of stark contrasts. On one extreme you've got the revved up and very NSFW "Bottle Of Smoke", and then there are the haunting, beautiful ballads like "Lullaby Of London" and "The Broad Majestic Shannon." And no, it's not about a fat chick named Shannon.

On this album you can hear the effects of alcohol and drugs beginning to take their toll because Shane sounds plastered in the studio on several tracks, but the contrast between his slurred singing and his brilliant lyrics is one thing that makes this album so fascinating. It's the sound of a genius on the verge of self-destruction, exhilarating and tragic at the same time. His voice was a bit stronger on Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash, but this is their most complete album, and he still had the best howl in music history.

The Pogues had employed Elvis Costello as producer on their previous album and Joe Strummer as producer on a later disc, but this time they used Steve Lillywhite of U2 fame, and it was Lillywhite who recruited his wife Kirsty MacColl to sing the memorable duet on “Fairytale Of New York”. It still amazes me that this song has become a Christmas staple in the UK because people conveniently overlook the fact that it's about a couple of junkies.

"Bottle Of Smoke"

"If I Should Fall From Grace With God"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrBLqp-s__o
"Lullaby Of London"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBTcwFg3gDY

Leestu
The Smiths, “The Smiths”
, 1984

Image

“Hand In Glove”

“What Difference Does It Make?”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPBZjXroEzk
“Reel Around the Fountain”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxLFav1Z9EY

NSpan
To Be Added At A Later Date

numbersix
Gang of Four, “Entertainment!”
, 1979

Image

Having been a fan of Joy Division for some time, I'm surprised how long it took me to delve into similar music from that era. The Clash were the only ones I really knew, and they were a million miles away from JD's gloomy atmospherics. A friend of mine insisted I'd like Gang of Four so I took a risk in the pre Youtube and pre-Torrent (though Kazaa and Limewire were around, but good luck finding anything you wanted outside of the Billboard Top 100)era and bought this, their debut album. At first I was confused by the strange, scratchy sound of the guitars and the shouty vocals. I later came to realise that these crackers from Leeds were actually employing techniques from funk and taking it to the world of DIY punk rock.

But that's not the reason I love this record. It's because each song is so damn good. Despite being off-kilter in many ways I now find them to be completely accessible. Like The Clash, the lyrics are slogans about society's ailments. I wouldn't call them intellectual as such, but they work because they're so provocative. There's boundless energy crammed into each song, and they're not afraid to deviate slightly from their style, as can be heard in their noisy psyche-rock number Anthrax. It's also one of the few albums I've heard where there's not one dull moment.

"Damaged Goods"

"Anthrax"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NTmgFNSLtA
"Guns Before Butter"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_eF9hPCW_U

Ron Burgundy
Nirvana, "Nevermind"
, 1991

Image

You all know it how it goes. Legendary Album.

"Lithium"

"Come As You Are"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kj2E5kAErZE

silversurfer
Pixies, “Doolittle”
, 1989

Image

For me, this is the Pixies greatest release. While I love Surfer Rosa, Doolittle has always maintained a special place in my heart. Having seen it played live chronologically in it's entirety a couple of times now has only confirmed this. It's a spectacular record, a record brimming with confidence, as the little guys from Boston could finally build on the acclaim they have amassed thanks to The Purple Tape, Come on Pilgrim and Surfer Rosa, and deliver a record that is cleaner and more polished, highlighting the pure pop that had always been lurking beneath their wall of sound and yelping vocals. Gil Norton is mostly to thank for this. He recognised the direction the band were moving towards and took full advantage to make this a truly accessible record, one that could finally embrace the size of an audience the band deserved. And indeed, Doolittle is a great leap from the abrasive, raw nature of Albini's Surfer Rosa, with songs like "Here Comes Your Man", "Monkey Gone To Heaven", "La La Love You" and "Wave Of Mutilation" proving that the band could indeed write pop records that could still sit very comfortably alongside their spaghetti western/ surf pop/ noise-rock they were more famous for.

Not to say this is a tame record. Completely the opposite. The band created some of their most twisted, aggressive music on Doolittle too, allowing Norton to showcase the band's trademark loud-quiet-loud style in full effect. And this aggression is only further complemented by Black Francis' lyrics, which too are even more twisted than anything that had come prior to this release. From religious violence, torture and death to the surreal and perverse, Francis' dark themes contrasted the sound to dramatic effect, mirroring the dueling of guitars fabulously.

Doolittle is such a special record, it's littered with hits, and drives them at you with such velocity and venom, it's impossible to resist. I fell in love with this record during the late 90s, and I can't even imagine how many times I've listened to it now, but it never ages. It sounds just as fresh, relevant and important as it did back then. There's an immediacy to the record just can't ignore, and with such wonderful pop, it's not hard to see why.

"Wave Of Mutilation"

"Gouge Away"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMHykYTomdo
"Debaser"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0P3lhrwio-M

transformers
Mastodon, "Leviathan"
, 2004

Image

"Iron Tusk"

"Naked Burn"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNO1CZkY9fw

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Re: Fantaverse Top 100 Albums Of All Time (Thread #10) #10-#

Post by JohnErle »

Another good round with some familiar choices. Those are three of my favourite Pixies songs, not to mention "Monkey Gone To Heaven", so if I ever dig deeper than the Wave Of Mutilation compilation I'll probably start with Doolittle.

And Six may remember that I had Gang Of Four's "Return The Gift" on my list, so I'm already familiar with the alternate versions of "Damaged Goods" and "Anthrax". Based on what I heard here I'll probably always prefer the "Return The Gift" versions.

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Re: Fantaverse Top 100 Albums Of All Time (Thread #10) #10-#

Post by numbersix »

JohnErle wrote:
And Six may remember that I had Gang Of Four's "Return The Gift" on my list, so I'm already familiar with the alternate versions of "Damaged Goods" and "Anthrax". Based on what I heard here I'll probably always prefer the "Return The Gift" versions.
I do remember you listing that, and was bewildered at first. To be honest I was expecting your opinion on Return the Gift to alter once you heard these songs. They're more urgent, more energetic, while to me the RtG version sound like a bunch of middle-aged men trying to relive past glories. Perhaps for both of us it's a case of what we heard first.

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Re: Fantaverse Top 100 Albums Of All Time (Thread #10) #10-#

Post by numbersix »

John E: I think I'm going to have to chalk my resistance to The Pogues up to some childhood trauma contracted from too many awful "trad" sessions. I think it's mostly the presence of an accordion.

Leetsu: A great record, though I'd put Queen and Meat ahead of it. But some excellent songs are there, the three you picked (plus This Charming Man, of course) being the best.

Ron B: A good record indeed.

SS: Appropriately next to Nirvana, this is another classic deserved of its status.

Tranny: Actually not bad for modern metal.

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Re: Fantaverse Top 100 Albums Of All Time (Thread #10) #10-#

Post by silversurfer19 »

I'm going to take the jump and say we start our no.1s on the 1st May. It's just getting too ridiculous hoping for people to get their picks in on time. I'll conclude this thread with no.2 in the next day or so, and then take a break of a couple of weeks and kick off at the start of next month. It will give everyone a chance to catch up (including NSpan, hopefully), as well as providing enough time for everyone to write something up for their no.1. If you need me to post your pick that's ok, but I'd rather you post yourself in order to keep your pick a mystery.

I will kick off the thread on May 1st, so if everyone else can indicate a date following that they would wish to submit their no.1, and I will update this post. Hopefully this will ensure everyone can keep up to date.

No.1 Itinerary

1/05 - silversurfer
2/05 - JohnErle
3/05
4/05 - numbersix
5/05 - Leestu
6/05
7/05
8/05 - englishozzy
9/05 - transformers
Last edited by silversurfer19 on April 22nd, 2013, 4:36 am, edited 3 times in total.

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Re: Fantaverse Top 100 Albums Of All Time (Thread #10) #10-#

Post by numbersix »

May 4th works for me.

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Re: Fantaverse Top 100 Albums Of All Time (Thread #10) #10-#

Post by transformers2 »

I will take May 9th
BRING BRENDAN FRASER BACK TO THE BIG SCREEN DAMN IT
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Re: Fantaverse Top 100 Albums Of All Time (Thread #10) #10-#

Post by silversurfer19 »

Album No.3

JohnErle: The Pogues, "If I Should Fall From Grace With God" - Still very much an inherently Celtic vibe to it all, with the accordian and other typical instruments really putting me off, but the punk roots are much more evident of the first track, so actually for the most part this was a little more bearable than what I've heard previously, had a real energy to it. Second song highlighted everything I dislike about the band, however. Guess this is just going to be one of those bands I never appreciate. And regarding Fairytale, I guess it's because as long as there's a mention of Christmas in the lyrics, it makes it a lovely Christmas song as far as the general public are concerned. Probably why you get countless songs about death being used as wedding or happy occasion songs, as long as theirs something upbeat about it, people neglect the lyrics.

Leestu: The Smiths, “The Smiths” - I got this record quite a while after Queen and Meat, and perhaps because of this its never had the same impact on me. I think partly the songs just aren't quite as strong, the band, Marr in particular, is still finding his voice, and it isn't until Queen in my opinion that he finds it. It has some great songs, but there's also plenty of filler, so this just feels to me like a record that hints at greater things to come.

numbersix: Gang of Four, “Entertainment!” - I knew it would turn up at some point, so glad that I'm not the only person to include it. Such a frantic while at the same time funky record. Great stuff, and Damaged Goods is easily one of my favourites from the record. I haven't listened to Return The Gift, from your description six it doesn't sound all that great, but I'll give it a go to see how it works for me.

Ron Burgundy: Nirvana, "Nevermind" - And another record that made my own list, great picks too, no wonder they were used as singles, so catchy and memorable.

transformers: Mastodon, "Leviathan" - Still very heavy, but this was decent, especially so the second track, which reminded me of Nirvana mixed with some heavy metal bizarrely enough. Some really good riffs and breakdowns, while the vocals had this kind of nihilism that worked well with the music. Not bad at all.

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Re: Fantaverse Top 100 Albums Of All Time (Thread #10) #10-#

Post by Geezer »

I had planned on just submitting my 1-4 all at the same time since I'm now a couple behind, but with the wait I should be able to catch up.
Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man. - The Dude

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Re: Fantaverse Top 100 Albums Of All Time (Thread #10) #10-#

Post by Leestu »

I'll have the 5th if that's okay.

Great Pogues picks John. Bottle of Smoke was my favourite off the album when I first got it and the title track is great. As to lullabys though I prefer Sit Down By The Fire :twisted: :lol:

Surfer & Six, The Smiths was the first studio album of theirs I owned (I started with The World Won't Listen, then Hatful of Hollow, then this one) and I think the first album you know back to front of a band often has a lasting impact in terms of affection. Also I have noticed through this countdown that I usually, but not always of course, appreciate bands debut albums more. Plus I like being unique so Queen... may be the critics favourite, Meat.... - the fans fave, Strangeways is reputedly Morrissey and Marr's favourite, which leaves their debut for me. ;)

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Re: Fantaverse Top 100 Albums Of All Time (Thread #10) #10-#

Post by JohnErle »

Leestu wrote:Great Pogues picks John. Bottle of Smoke was my favourite off the album when I first got it and the title track is great. As to lullabys though I prefer Sit Down By The Fire :twisted: :lol:
That's a very different, very twisted sort of lullaby, but I do love it.

And Strangeways is probably my favourite Smiths album too, so I guess I agree with Morrissey and Marr on that one.

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Re: Fantaverse Top 100 Albums Of All Time (Thread #10) #10-#

Post by JohnErle »

Mine is already finished and ready to send, so I may as well go second.

I'm assuming the full-year draft is definitely a go for next week and the two won't overlap?

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