Listen Up: Classic Artist of the Week • Page 7

I was only able to make it half way through her Sings The Blues album cuz I had an errand to run, but from what I heard, I'll definitely revisit it.

And thank you!

 

No one could steer me right, but mama tried, mama tried, mama tried to teach me better but her pleadings i denied

that leaves only me to blame cuz

mama tried

 

Such a great song.

 

Last day for Nina for anyone who wants to jump into the discussion in her thread.

 

Man. I might not be able to listen until late tonight or tomorrow. Gonna try and squeeze in at least a few songs today

 

Merle Haggard
One of country's greatest songwriters, Merle walked a line between toughness and heart that few could imitate. His simplicity in the face of polished Nashville product created the famed Bakersville sound. When he moved into the 70s, he aligned himself with the equally far-reaching Outlaw movement. He died in 2016 as one of the most universally adored talents in country's rich history.

Recommended Listen:
Branded Man

Crash Course:
1. Branded Man
2. Hag
3. If I Could Only Fly

Compilation Replacement:
Hag: The Best of Merle Haggard

Signature Songs:
1. "Mama Tried"
2. "The Bottle Let Me Down"
3. "Are the Good Times Really Over"
4. "Okie from Muskogee"
5. "I Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink"

Personal Note:
I'm not intensely familiar with Merle's catalog, but I wanted to select him in tribute since he just passed. I can vouch personally for the three records in that crash course, but they're all I've really heard, so there might be even better ones out there to explore for him. Same goes for the signature songs. Those ones are all well-known hits for Hag, but I might be missing some gems I just haven't heard yet. So let's all explore and maybe I'll update this OP at the end of the week for future listeners.

 

Most exciting week so far for me.

 

My grandpas favorite artist so I've heard many songs over the years but never an entire record. I'll give Branded Man a spin today on my beach drive.

 

I'm sure Chris has this planned out for at least the next 60 months, and I'm sure all of these artist are apart of it somewhere, here is a list of artists that I would love to see included at some point. These are all artists that I enjoy, but haven't dug too deep with.

Led Zeppelin
The Rolling Stones
Billy Joel
Bruce Springsteen
Steely Dan
Boston (do people consider them to be bad? idk)
The Doors
The Police

 

If someone tells you Boston is bad, tell them I said they suck.

I'd like to get to all of these 100%, but definitely want to keep alternating around between genres and levels of fame, too. Almost all of these are major heavy hitters, so I wouldn't want to hit them too close in succession. All noted and likely to appear though.

 

I totally agree with this! ABBA was probably my absolute favorite week so far, just because I would NEVER have thought to listen to an album by them, and now I've heard three! You do you Chris, can't wait to see what's all coming up next.

 

Haha stick with me and I promise to keep it varied.

It's been a lot of learning for me, too. I had only heard 2 Merle Haggard albums and now I've heard 6. Pumps me up

 

Oh hey, this is such a cool idea. Gonna find some time to listen to Merle Haggard this week and plan on following this thread. I've been meaning to get into older music this past year or so, but haven't done such a great job at it haha.

 

Thin Lizzy
Probably the greatest band to come out of Ireland, Thin Lizzy are somehow eternally underrated, which suits them. The twin guitar attack of Brian Robertson and Scott Gorham is probably the most influential aspect of their sound, their harmonized leads setting a template for hundreds of rock and metal bands to come. But they were so much more than a rock band. Fronted by Phil Lynott, an imposing guy who looked like he could take anyone in a brawl, the band’s songs were filled with hard-luck characters, tough-skinned poetics, and an undeniable romantic streak, in the classic sense of the term. Lynott was a storyteller first, ass-kicker second. With the ability to switch from blistering rock like “Are You Ready” to arena-filling pop songs like “The Boys Are Back in Town” to passionate ballads like “Still in Love with You” there was seemingly nothing the band couldn’t do until Lynott’s untimely death in in 1986 at just 36 years old.


Recommended Listen:
Jailbreak

Crash Course
1. Jailbreak
2. Live and Dangerous
3. Nightlife

Compilation Replacement:
Dedication: The Very Best of Thin Lizzy

Signature Songs:
1. Whiskey in the Jar
2. Rosalie
3. The Boys Are Back in Town
4. Cowboy Song
5. Dancing in the Moonlight

Personal Note:
Including a live album in the crash course is a new decision for me, but seemed fitting to give the real picture of Lizzy. Bad Reputation and Fighting would have made great selections, too, but the live record gives an indication of the aspect of their sound their records never fully captured, for all their greatness, and Nightlife gives you a different picture than those two records, which are in a similar vein to Jailbreak. For those looking for a visual component, go on youtube and find their Live at Rockplast show and you won’t be disappointed.

 

Prince
I don’t even know what to say about Prince. The Purple One. His Royal Badness. He was, quite simply, one of the most exceptional artists ever to grace the Earth. There are musicians and songwriters and performers. But then there’s Beethoven and Gershwin and Miles and Louis and Dylan…and Prince Rogers Nelson. At his peak, he truly could have done anything. His boundless creativity encompassed 27 instruments, utterly ignored genre barriers, gleefully flaunted sexual and gender mores, and radically reinvented pop music along the way. He could write a song that was simultaneously luridly raunchy and sweetly devoted. He could make you want to fuck and think about God at the same time. He was everything.

Recommended Listen:
Purple Rain

Crash Course:
1. Purple Rain
2. Sign O the Times
3. Dirty Mind

Compilation Replacement:
The Hits/B-Sides

Signature Songs:
1. “I Wanna Be Your Lover”
2. “When You Were Mine”
3. “Little Red Corvette”
4. “Purple Rain”
5. “Kiss”

Personal Note:
I imagine that a lot more people have been through the crash course than on the average week, so these notes might be a little more significant than usual. He has a lot of options to choose from:

- Prince is probably his most underrated, with him perfecting the frizzy funk that was the rage in the late 70s and early 80s.

- Around the World in a Day was a deliberate attempt to shake off the bandwagoners of Purple Rain with an embrace of psychedelic sounds that’s pretty excellent.

- Parade is probably the one to go to if you’re dying for more of the Purple Rain-type innovation. The songs are more sketches, but there’s a lot of genre-bending greatness and one of his Top 3 closing tracks (which is saying something).

- ArtOfficialAge is probably his best album post-Sign as far as I’m concerned. Free-wheeling and playful and ambitious and off-kilter in the way he was at his peak.

- 3121 is the peak of his “real instrument” phase that ran for most of the 2000s.

- The Love Symbol Album and Diamonds and Pearls are pretty strong samples of his more hip-hop infused era. Some goofy or embarrassing moments, but some HEAVY grooves.

- The Gold Experience is probably his most focused of the 90s. Some really wonderful stuff on there.

 

Was at Coachella when the news broke of his passing, and all weekend artists and fans were paying tribute, I left a Sufjan set that closed with Purple Rain straight to Ellie covering When Doves Cry. Prince Harry straight up transcends all genre and influences everyone

 

Thinking about a slightly less obvious choice for this upcoming week, but a little worried that would completely kill enthusiasm for this project. What do people think?

 

Do it!

I completely flunked this week, so I definitely need to catch up on Prince too.

 

I slacked the past two weeks. I listened to one Thin Lizzy album and two Prince

 

do it, I always figured the point was to introduce people to an artist you love right?

 

That's much more me-centric than I really intended it to be. I'm not that arrogant that I think a whole thing should be organized around my taste/recs.

Like, I picked Merle having only heard two records because it was a good time to remember him and I needed to explore him. I'll probably pick The Doors some week even though I'm not much of a fan. I just took the reins because I have the enthusiasm to do it every week and I know it'll get done and nobody else will have to worry about it. Haha

That ain't slacking. Any listening and participating in a given week is great. That's why there are varying levels of suggestions. I wish more people too busy for an album even, like, checked out the 5 signature songs and talked about them a bit or something. That would be great.

 

if you ever need help or a suggestion I'd be willing to

 

Absolutely. Throw them out there. I have a big list going of potential ones I want to do and suggestions people have made to select from going forward.

 

we need some 60s/70s funk/rnb/soul such as
sly and the family
james brown
otis
al
sam cooke
etc etc

or some blues like
bb
robert johnson
etta
buddy guy
muddy waters
etc etc


also eno bc he just put out an album

 

some suggestions

Harry Nilsson
Talking Heads
Pixies
The Cure
R.E.M.
The Clash