Listen Up: Classic Artist of the Week • Page 9

Added to the list of possible future selections!

 

Fun fact: The Dock of the Bay wasn't finished and the whistling was used as a placeholder while they were writing the final lyrics. Otis died before he could finish it so they left the whistling in even though it wasn't meant to be in the song. The song became the 1st posthumous No. 1 hit in America. Also, a ton of people think he was old when he died but he was only 26.

 

I love that Steve Cropper had the ear to know not to replace that whistling. Even if that was his only contribution to music history (it wasn't), it would be monumental

 

You guys are like musical Knowledge Gods right now.

 

That's an incredible voice for someone in his mid 20s

 

He was really special. I can't even imagine how big he would have gotten if he had lived.

 

The Supremes

The Queens of Motown were as dominant and successful a hit factory as any group or artist of the early 1960s, landing an amazing 12 songs at #1 on the Billboard charts. Diana Ross, Florence Ballard and Mary Wilson started together in the same housing project in Detroit and climbed their way to the peak of the music industry. Their glamor, style and string of timeless classic songs are iconic elements of the peak of ‘60s culture. Dig beyond just the hits, and you’ll find the pinnacle of what the well-oiled Motown machine could achieve.

Recommended Listen:
Sing Holland-Dozier-Holland

Crash Course:
1. Sing Holland-Dozier-Holland
2. I Hear a Symphony
3. Where Did Our Love Go

Compilation Replacement:
Gold

Signature Songs:
1. “Where Did Our Love Go”
2. “You Can’t Hurry Love”
3. “Stop! In the Name of Love”
4. “You Keep Me Hanging On”
5. “I Hear a Symphony”

Personal Note:
I’m not very familiar with their work post-Ross, so there might be some gems there to discover. The signature songs could very easily be 5 completely different songs, as they had so many essential singles, but “Someday We’ll Be Together” and their version of “This Old Heart of Mine” jump to mind as favorites you might not have heard a thousand times.

 

Oh hell yeah

 

Bill Evans
(Assembled mostly from Ben's expertise, with a relatively minimal amount of curation on my part)

A jazz legend who makes music beautiful enough to draw in neophytes but accomplished enough for serious fans, he has a case for the greatest of the jazz pianists. He made his name in Mile Davis's sextet and played on the archetypal jazz album, Kind of Blue. From there he led his own bands, influencing generations of piano players.

Recommended Listen: The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Album

Crash Course:
1. The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Album
2. Waltz For Debby
3. Conversations With Myself

Compilation Replacement:
Bill Evans's Finest Hour

Signature Songs:
1. "Peace Piece" (Everybody Digs Bill Evans)
2. "Blue in Green" (Portrait in Jazz)
3. "Waltz For Debby" (Waltz for Debby/Sunday at The Village Vanguard)
4. Funkarello (The Interplay Sessions)
5. My Foolish Heart (Waltz for Debby)

Personal Note:
For my personal taste, "A House is Not a Home" would be one of the songs, as it's fucking astounding. I also would have included I Will Say Goodbye. But Ben is MUCH more knowledgable than I am, so I defer to his expertise. I'm excited to do a deep dive on an artist I don't know that well for a week.

Ben's Commentary:
There's a lot that could be in other two, after the live cut, though. I'd choose Portrait in Jazz over Everybody Digs Bill Evans, for instance, because the former is his trio with LaFaro and Motian, which was his best group imo. However, that's the same group as the live cut, so if you wanted to be a little more eclectic over his career you could go with Everybody Digs, which is a different group.

Conversations is essential in the sense that it was extremely groundbreaking in its use of overdubbing, but it may not be totally accessible. It's in a similar timeframe as the other two listed (they're '61, '59, '63), too, so if you value a spread you could go with a late album like You Must Believe in Spring (absolutely soul-crushing album btw) but other than the emotions its not really on the same level as the others. His best work was truly 58-63, anything else is probably under "further exploration." The Bill Evans Album is another later-career highlight, but again, it's not really on the level of even the likes of other 58-63 albums like Undercurrent or Interplay.

Further listening:
- Everybody Digs Bill Evans (1958)
- Interplay (1962)
- Undercurrent (1962)

Later career exploration:
- You Must Believe in Spring (1977)
- The Bill Evans Album (1971)
- The Tokyo Concert (1973)

 

I'm a few weeks behind but hoping to catch up. Downloaded a couple Otis Redding albums for tomorrow morning.

 

A reminder to link to the artist thread in these posts, @cshadows2887 , in case newcomers don't realize there are separate threads

 

True facts:

Bill Evans • forum.chorus.fm

 

Aerosmith
Known now as the launching pad for animated pair of lips Steven Tyler, soundtrack balladeers and 80s MTV crossover rockers, it's easy to forget that, for a time, they were simply one of the greatest hard rock bands in the world. For four albums, they were at the forefront of hard rock, marrying great songs to ferocious playing. Drugs and tension between the members had them lost in the wilderness for a decade or so, before they re-emerged making shiny, fun pop-rock in their enormous comeback. It's no accident that one of their 90s albums was called Nine Lives.

Recommended Listen:
Rocks

Crash Course:
1. Rocks
2. Get Your Wings
3. Toys in the Attic

Compilation Replacement:
Aerosmith's Greatest Hits

Signature Songs:
1. "Dream On"
2. "Train Kept 'A Rollin'"
3. "Walk This Way"
4. "Sweet Emotion"
5. "Back in the Saddle"

Personal Note:
Even if you think you know how you feel about them, listen to their early run of records first. Hard rock gets quickly dismissed by modern music fans, but when it's done as well as Aerosmith through Rocks is, there's little music out there with more ferocious energy. If you asked a Bostonian, you'd put "Seasons of Wither" and "Same Old Song and Dance" and probably "Mama Kin" in there over some of the bigger hits, but I'm trying to stay objective. I feel like most people's impression of the band comes from their fun-but-lightweight 80s and 90s material, so I stayed away from it in favor of their peak stuff. If you want the 80s stuff, Pump is the clear best. Get a Grip is a really good time, too. They also got very focused again in the '00s for Just Push Play, on which "Jaded" is probably their best latter-day single.

 

And if you're looking for the thread:

Band - Aerosmith

 

@ChiliTacos @ChaseTx

I feel like you guys have been quiet on the last few artists. Hope you guys get the time to keep going with it. Or did I just lose you with jazz? Haha

 

No I need to listen to Bill Evans, I love jazz. I just haven't been listening to much music outside a couple new albums. Definitely meaning to catch up though.

I am not a huge Aerosmith fan though

 

Me either. I'm listening to their stuff though.

 

Just discovering this thread and will try to follow it, but I'm not into Aerosmith either so I may sit out for a bit.

 

This is great stuff

 

Have you heard their old stuff? Or mostly the goofier 80s shit?

 

I'm here! Definitely didn't have anything to do with the jazz artist, I love jazz! Just been crazy busy. Bill is on my list to catch up on and I plan to do an Aerosmith album or two tonight or tomorrow.

Please don't stop doing this Chris! I promise I'll be more diligent haha.

 

For what it's worth, I completely loathe Aerosmith's 80s stuff, but I found a lot to enjoy in the album I listened to from 1976.

 

You are the best. Haha

 

I've heard all the big hits. I liked them in high school just because I listened to anything with guitar solos, but as an adult I've come to sort of dislike them.

 

Haha wasn't trying to guilt trip you. Just you two and George were the most consistent in posting about it, so if I'd lost you two somehow through the process, I wanted to adjust. Totally want this to be something people enjoy doing.