Some Help on Some Bands/Musicians...

[5_moves_of_doom 0]

So I did this a while back... and now I'm doing it again with an entirely new batch of bands! Basically, I list a bunch of bands that I've heard good things about... or that I've been meaning to get into... or that I really like, but just don't know them by their specific albums... and you take whichever ones you know, give me your opinions/any information on them, and suggest which albums I should start out with if I'm going to get into them. This worked pretty well last time, so... well, here's the list of bands, and if you're a fan (or an avid hater, for that matter) of any of them, please do speak up. I'd appreciate any information on any of them that I can get. Thanks.

 

 

 

MC5

 

The Raincoats

 

Husker Du (I've got Zen Arcade and absolutely adore it... but where do I go from there?)

 

The Minutemen

 

King Crimson

 

Half Japanese

 

Iron Maiden

 

Air

 

The Skatalites

 

Television (well, I discussed them in another post with someone the other day, and it inspired me to finally go out and purchase their masterpiece Marquee Moon... but what confuses me is that this guy said that the band's second album was terrible, while I've heard from other sources that it's quite acceptable... is it worth getting?)

 

The Feelies

 

XTC

 

Frank Zappa (I've a *lot* of his songs and have loved the guy for a long time... but have no albums. where to start?)

 

Captain Beefheart

 

The Kinks

 

The Stiff Little Fingers

 

T. Rex

 

Deep Purple

 

Yes

 

Judas Priest

 

Bob Marley (yes, I know he's an obvious choice, but... well, I've just never really given him a chance)

 

Sleater-Kinney

 

Whew. ...Right, well, I know that's quite a lot, but I'm sure that the combined knowledge of you guys can get me at least a little feedback on most of them. Thanks to anyone who replies, even if it's just on one or two bands.

Edited April 11, 2004 by 5_moves_of_doom

[k thx 0]

For Air, I reccommnend Moon Safari, or their latest album Talkie Walkie. They're the two albums which most define their sound, and if you like one Air song, you'll probably like both those albums. Moon Safari May be best to start with because it contains their main singles, but I personally believe Talkie Walkie to be the better of the two.

 

Best song is "All I Need" off Moon Safari.

[snuffbox 0]

Bob Marley - Start with 'Legend' and buy everything from there.

[PLAGIARISM! 0]

XTC - Drums and Wires, Black Sea, English Settlement, Skylarking, Nonsuch, Apple Venus.

 

Squirtle will agree it was all downhill after Go 2 however.

[PLAGIARISM! 0]

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

For Air, I reccommnend Moon Safari, or their latest album Talkie Walkie. They're the two albums which most define their sound, and if you like one Air song, you'll probably like both those albums. Moon Safari May be best to start with because it contains their main singles, but I personally believe Talkie Walkie to be the better of the two.

 

Best song is "All I Need" off Moon Safari.

I like the few tracks I've heard off of Talkie Walkie better. More atmospheric, less cheeseball synth ("Kelly Watch The Stars" was cute, but the chorus always made me want to punch someone in the cock).

 

MC5 - you'll be wanting Kick Out The Jams, their first album (a live one), for starters. It's pretty neat. They're one of the earliest punk bands (i.e. New York Dolls/Stooges era), and you might like their raw nuttiness. Personally, I'd go for the Stooges first, because I think they did what the MC5 did better in most fashions. I'd start with Fun House if you go Stooges, just because the self-titled first album is good, but not great. Fun House and Raw Power are about as energetic, menacing, and drunkenly compelling as proto-punk stuff gets.

 

And, ah, Sleater-Kinney. Well, you really can't go wrong with them. If you avoid their first album (self-titled and just okay), you're good as gold. Call the Doctor and Dig Me Out are earlier, rougher, and have some of their most gorgeous songs on there ("Good Things," "One More Hour," and "Buy Her Candy" foremost among them). Those two albums are about as good as they can be and I'd recommend either to you without reservations.

 

Next up are The Hot Rock and All Hands On The Bad One. I like them both, and the latter is probably the most flat-out fun album they've recorded. Totally kick-ass, but I think the earlier albums might be a better place to start. And then you've got One Beat, which is fucking stellar, but sort of fades out over its second half. It gets a little monotonous - listen to any of the songs individually and you're great, but you might get a bit tired of the dour crunch as the album progresses. The first four tracks on this album are jaw-dropping, and it's worth getting just for the joy of hearing them the first time.

 

Sleater-Kinney are so good that you can approach their catalog pretty much anyway you want, despite my biases towards the earlier albums. It might be fun to go chronologically, but you can also just buy whatever you see cheapest at the time. Oh, and download their cover of "More Than A Feeling" if you can. It's gut-wrenching.

[snuffbox 0]

To hear a little bit of the extent of MC5's influence, check out covers of 'Kick Out The Jams' by RATM and Jeff Buckley.

 

Captain Beefheart & his Magic Band - Get 'Trout Mask Replica', obviously. Also check out 'Songs for No One' by Gary Lucas/Jeff Buckley.

[Giuseppe Zangara 0]

Hüsker Dü--New Day Rising is your next stop. The perfect synthesis of their hardcore sound and the increasing fondness of psychadelic pop. "Book About UFOs" is one of the greatest songs of the 80s.

 

Minutemen--Double Nickels on the Dime is generally considered their best; it is good, but a little too bloated for my tastes (43 songs in 73 minutes). My favorite Minutemen album is the one that followed--and their last one before D. Boon's death--3 Way Tie (for last). While maintaining the punk zeal of their early records, they also adopt a good deal of classic/southern rock in a style that's strictly Minutemen (rest assured, they'd never be on the dial with Lynard Skynard and the like).

 

The Feelies--Crazy Rhythms. Their other three albums are good, but very low key; they lack the frenetic, spazzy energy of their appropriately titled debut.

[Youth N Asia 0]

I am pretty against "chick rock," but last year I discovered Sleater-Kinney and really like them now. I'd download first before buying anything. Some of my favorites: "Good Things," "Leave You Behind," "All Hands On The Bad One," "You're No Rock And Roll Fun."

[ArkhamGlobe 0]

On MC5 I pretty much agree with Edwin on getting Kick Out the Jams. I prefer the Stooges over-all to the MC5, but still, Kick Out the Jams is a really good album that you should probably pick up (though I personally think that the album peaks a bit early).

 

As for the Kinks, the first two albums are fun, but a bit patchy at times. The Kink Kontroversy is REALLY good with a couple of great songs. Oddly enough, I've never heard Face to Face, which is supposedly some kind of masterpiece. Then you hit the Holy Trinity of albums - Something Else by the Kinks, The Village Green Preservation Society and Arthur; or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire. Get these albums now. All of them are absolutely stuffed with great songs and are pretty much the peak for both the band and for Ray Davies as a songwriter. Afterwards they went on a gradual decline, though there's some good stuff to be found still (Lola vs Powerman and the Moneygoround is a good album, and there are some really good songs on Everybody's in Showbiz, though the rest of the album is quite lackluster).

 

And as a former progrock fan in my youth, I feel I can give some advice on Yes. These three albums are worth getting: The Yes Album, Fragile and Close to the Edge. The rest I remember finding to be rather dreadful but YMMV and all that.

[AboveAverage484 0]

For info on any of these bands, I highly recommend allmusic.com. It has a biography and reviews on all their CD's as well a "recommended CD" by them to get you started on the band.

[k thx 0]

The Kinks always seemed more of a singles band. None of their albums did them justice IMHO.

[Giuseppe Zangara 0]

The Kinks always seemed more of a singles band. None of their albums did them justice IMHO.

The Village Green Preservation Society and Arthur are both superb LPs. It gets a little spotty outside of that, though.

[JangoFett4Hire 0]

MC5 (obvious first choice- Kick Out the Jams, mutherfucker!)

 

 

Husker Du (I've got Zen Arcade and absolutely adore it... but where do I go from there?) (Yeah, Squirtle is right on, and if the record store is out of that, look for Flip Your Wig. Candy Apple Grey is really good latter day Du.)

 

The Minutemen (All of their stuff is squeezed onto 3 CDS Post Mersh Vol 1-3. And they have a few best of's. Try Double Nickel on the Dimes.)

 

 

Iron Maiden (Piece of Mind. Then Number of the Beast. Then their pre-Dickinson stuff. I hate their concept stuff. That's all you need, really.

 

 

The Stiff Little Fingers (Inflammable Material is a must have)

 

Deep Purple (Machine Head and Fireball)

 

Yes (Classic Yes has all their early prog rockingness).

 

 

Bob Marley (yes, I know he's an obvious choice, but... well, I've just never really given him a chance) (Legend!)

See italics, plz

[DCMaximo 0]

Stiff Little Fingers....Inflammable Materials is utter greatness, featuring two of their best known works (Alternative Ulster and Suspect Device) and is certainly worth checking out.

 

Air....a contrast to other replies, but I personally like their soundtrack to the Virgin Suicides more than Moon Safari. Playground Love is my favourite Air song and the whole album seems more cohesive than MS.

[Slayer 0]

Iron Maiden

Recommend: Number of the Beast, Somewhere in Time, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, Dance of Death

 

Anti-recommend: The Blaze albums. While I like X-Factor (Virtual XI sucks though), I can't recommend it to Maiden n00bs right off the bat.

 

Judas Priest

Recommend: Screaming for Vengeance, Defenders of the Faith, Painkiller

 

Anti-recommend: The Tim Owens albums, studio or live. He was horribly misused during his time there, and the guitarists drop-tuning their classic songs at concerts was blasphemy.

 

King Crimson

Given the extensiveness and variety of their discography, it's hard to figure where you might start, but one major thing IMO is that the live albums are far superior to the studio outings, so find the live CDs, especially Absent Lovers, Night Watch and Vroom Vroom

[Red Baron 0]

Iron Maiden: Definitly, and almost anyone will tell you, Number of the Beast for sure, but get samples from every singer. From Paul D'Ianno, Iron Maiden s/t is great, as is Number of the Beast, Piece of Mind, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, all of these albums are Bruce Dickinson albums. For Blaze get X-Factor, which is a good CD, definitly not Bruce material, but its underrated in many factors. Also pick up Maiden new CD, Dance of Death, plus Rock In Rio

[PLAGIARISM! 0]

Just to irritatingly focus the whole thread on me for a while, can anyone point me in the right direction regarding -

 

The Cramps

The Boredoms

The Damned

Shellac

 

thankyou.

[Giuseppe Zangara 0]

The Boredoms

Shellac

Boredoms--Depends on what you're in the mood for. Their noisy, abrasive side is best represented on Pop Tatari; latter day Boredoms is psychadelic, and, considering the bulk of the band's output, shockingly pretty at times. For that, you need Vision Creation Newsun.

 

Shellac--At Action Park is solid. The rest isn't terribly necessary.

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

King Crimson: Angelslayer hit it on the head by noting their diversity. I try to break them down in terms of a timeline, since their lineup has changed infinite times, and they've put out a godton of albums. Basically, from 67-70, you're looking at guitar and synth driven material with lots of instrumentals and weird instrumentation to go along with it. Their debut, In the Court of the Crimson King features the best album cover ever, and a few excellent tracks, a few filler tracks.

 

My personal favorite is Three of a Perfect Pair, which features the incomparable Adrian Belew on lead vocals, as he REALLY put the band on another level. This came out somewhere in the early 80's I think, and is just gorgeous and polished and interesting like some kind of mogul diamond. Belew uses his voice as a musical instrument all over this thing, and blends it perfectly with fretless guitar (wild), and interesting rhythms and riffs that come back on themselves and change like weather.

 

Starless and Bible Black is neat stuff from the 70's, same with Red, which features a great title track, and "One More Red Nightmare," which is phenomenal.

 

I've only listened to their stuff from the late sixties up until the eighties. I'm pretty sure Robert Fripp has some incarnation of the band still going and making music, but I haven't gotten that far yet.

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

I could make an even longer post about Frank Zappa, but he's such a gigantic animal that it really doesn't matter where you start. I went with his 71-75 stuff first, and then the 66-69 material, and now I'm working my way through the late 70's and 80's. Apostrophe, Sheik Yerbouti, Freak Out, Absolutely Free, Joe's Garage, Zoot Allures..

 

ALL are fucking awesome. He's not without his misses though, and some of the more long-winded concept stuff like "Billy The Mountain" and Lumpy Gravy can get old quick if you don't know what you're in for. He's more of a composer than a rock star, really.

 

If you're going to get one Zappa album, get Sheik Yerbouti, if you're going to get two, get Sheik Yerbouti and Freak Out.

[Anorak 0]

As for the Kinks, the first two albums are fun, but a bit patchy at times. The Kink Kontroversy is REALLY good with a couple of great songs. Oddly enough, I've never heard Face to Face, which is supposedly some kind of masterpiece. Then you hit the Holy Trinity of albums - Something Else by the Kinks, The Village Green Preservation Society and Arthur; or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire. Get these albums now. All of them are absolutely stuffed with great songs and are pretty much the peak for both the band and for Ray Davies as a songwriter. Afterwards they went on a gradual decline, though there's some good stuff to be found still (Lola vs Powerman and the Moneygoround is a good album, and there are some really good songs on Everybody's in Showbiz, though the rest of the album is quite lackluster).

Make sure you get the proper bonus track re-issues of The Kinks albums as you don't want to risk missing out on 'Days', 'Autumn Almanac' etc. Face to Face is as essential as those other 3 peak albums and if you discover a real love for those records then you you should check out everything up to and including Muswell Hillbillies.

 

Air - Moon Safari is the best starting point and is a perfectly composed album which spawned about a thousand imitators since. I heard The Virgin Suicides album a while ago and liked it a lot, far removed from a retread of MS but still sharing similar strengths.