I was actually planning to go today but I don’t mind waiting another week or however long is decided is fair. I did go a few weeks back in place of folks who weren’t around. Whatever works. We might want to fix the order on the first page though.
James Blood Ulmer is a guitarist who played with Ornette Coleman and has an incredibly unique style that involves “harmolodic“ tuning where every string on his guitar is tuned to A. He also loves the wahwah pedal. This record is a trio record with drums and violin that Ulmer makes you think also includes a bass player because he somehow is playing bass parts simultaneously on his weird ass guitar. I discovered this randomly in probably 2016 and it blew me away, I still don’t understand how he does it really. Between his insane technique and the electronics on him and the violin it makes for a very psychedelic and mind boggling record
Also I wish I had been able to do more research for my blurb but I am currently camping at the phish festival so you’ll get this and you’ll like it
This is definitely slotting in as a new rotation for me. Feels like a record to play at any time of the day.
James Blood Ulmer record is a fucking blast. Favorites have to be Little Red House and Swing & Things. Love the length of the album too since I'm not in the mood for something long at the moment
Yeah, this is really cool. That guitar tuning he uses almost makes it sound like a sitar at times, and it's wild that there isn't a bass player on this album. Need to find some videos to see how he actually plays some of this stuff.
Really enjoyed this. Not always down with the jam stuff, but it fit the mood I was in yesterday, and I really vibed with the songs with more conventional song structures ("Please Tell Her" stood out). Also baffled by how he plays/gets some of those tones, really unique record. I've been excited about my pick and I hope people enjoy it. Most people know Randy Newman for Toy Story or short people, but Sail Away is likely his best record (or at least his second best) and a great entry point into one of America's greatest songwriters. He's funny, satirical, sharp, progressive, and sentimental. I hope people that aren't familiar with his work get as much out of this one as I do: This is the deluxe edition; the album proper ends with "God's Song," which always made me feel like he was the original Father John Misty.
I've probably heard "You've Got a Friend In Me" more than any other song in existence (I watched my Toy Story VHS every day for months as a kid) but this will be my first Randy Newman album. Excited to dig into it.
this will be my first Randy Newman album as well. no idea what to expect question- because I went in place of Contender/WadeCastle last round, am I taking their place again for this new round? or am I waiting until my turn (before @Wharf Rat) in the list?
Good Old Boys is actually my favorite (this is a close-second), but you have to be willing to put up with a heavy amount of Blazing Saddles-level satire on that first song that absolutely would not fly today, lol You get a much more PG version of that on the opening track here.