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Your one album of choice.

Started by wasp_f15ting, August 01, 2007, 06:25:03 PM

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wasp_f15ting

Now we all have one album that we believe is repeatable again and again without pause. I want to see what any of you would say is your favourite album is. Your only allowed one choice no more. The album can't be a mix tape or best of. It has to be one album by one band/artist.

Though my musical taste varies a fair bit, I am going to list Fat of the land by The Prodigy as my favourite album. During my high school years, I played the album on repeat for nearly 7 months on crappy Sony Walkman. I loved every single aspect of the album and it's sound. From the opening power track of "Smack my bitch up" to the wonderful Narayan and Climbatize. Though I do believe there are better songs on Music for the jilted generation nothing quite matches the adrenaline rush from hearing this great album. I don't think there is a weak track on it. All of them are very unique and very different from each other.

The Gutsy bass and gritty guitar samples are just sumptuous to listen to again and again. There are many levels to the music, the samples layered on top of each other reveal themselves only with repeated listens. I don't think there is a better album of this kind of electronic. Keith flint's voice does annoy on occasion, but  his annoying voice soon disappears amidst wonderful layers of well engineered music. I don't think there was a better album of its kind in the 90s.

So what is your one album of choice, and why?

BJB

The first gorillaz album.

While demon days is a more controlled effort my favourite is the first one because of the many clashes of styles and Damon Albarn giving some of his best vocal performances.

buttgammon

It is a very good album. It always takes me back to buying the CD single of 'Clint Eastwood' in Manchester Airport just before I went on my first ever proper holiday abroad. I wasn't allowed to listen to my personal CD player on the plane so I had to wait until I landed in Majorca to hear it but it blew me away. One of the remixes on it (I can't remember the name of it or who did it) was absolutely fantastic too. I'll have to dig it out.

weekender

The one I keep going back to, that I never tire of, is 'Babbacombe Lee' by Fairport Convention.

John 'Babbacombe' Lee (wiki) , if you didn't know, was "the man they couldn't hang".  He was accused of murdering Miss Emma Ann Whitehead Keyse, but the evidence was largely circumstantial.  Despite this, he was sentenced to death by hanging.  He was on the gallows three times, but every time the mechanism failed - whether or not this was as a result of divine intervention or a simple mechanical fault is open to question, but the upshot is they couldn't hang him and he went to prison instead, maintaining his innocence until the day he died.

Anyway, the music.  Fairport's take on Babbacombe Lee is an astonishing concept album surrounding the life of John Lee.  It takes in his early boyhood poverty, moves on to him joining the navy, being subsequently invalidated, going to work for Miss Keyse, her murder, then John's subsequent conviction and survival. 

Along the way, it covers maudlin folk songs, upbeat navy shanties, poignant narrative on Lee's life, upbeat folk songs, all done in Fairport's excellent tight manner.

It was 1971 when it was released - to give you a brief insight into Fairport if you're not familiar with them, by this point they had suffered a bus crash in which their original drummer died, numerous people had (for various reasons) left the band and they were ostensibly a bit of a mess (which led to them being called 'Fairport Confusion' ho ho).  To produce this album in such circumstances was, quite frankly, astonishing.

Every time I hear this album I am fascinated by the whole story, as well as completely enraptured by the music.  This album has been much maligned over the years - although it was critically acclaimed, it was overlooked commercially at the time of release.  To this day, some people consider it to be a footnote in the Fairport story (often people prefer to concentrate on the band's first four albums 'Fairport Convention', 'What We Did On Our Holidays', 'Unhalfbricking' and 'Liege and Lief' - all of which are highly recommended as they are indeed excellent) - when in fact 'Babbacombe Lee' is so, so much more than that.

Fairport Convention wiki
'Babbacombe Lee' album wiki

ccbaxter

The Beatles by, er, The Beatles. Yes, perhaps (the even-more-obvious-mainstream-choice) Revolver is more perfectly-crafted and of-itself, and the one album simply named after the band as an entity is perhaps their most fragmented collection of individuals' input. But it's just so sprawling, so ridiculously eclectic, alternately rocking and delicate and epic and throwaway and emotional and frivolous, I just so enjoy going round and round and round it all again: sometimes with ears desperately trying to tune into every subtle nuances, other times simply drifting in and out of reveries with it seeping sometimes in and out. (Drifting in and out of consciousness to "Revolution #9", during a long journey in the dark, can be quite unsettling but quite strangely enjoyably so.)

Pseudopath

Hmmph...I used to like Fairport until I started getting roped into going to the Cropredy Festival every year. 20,000 bearded twats in cowboy hats swigging 4-pint gourds of 6X and murdering "Meet On The Ledge" does not a good time make. Now I can't help but associate the band and their music with tee-pee dwelling, amulet-wearing cuntwipes of the highest order, even though I know a couple of the band members quite well and wouldn't dare admit that to their faces.

I personally could never get tired of OK Computer. I'm still hearing new layers its songs even after 10 years.

Famous Mortimer

Slint – "Spiderland"
Took over my life for quite a lot of my first two years at Uni. I remember reading an interview with Steve Albini where he said he used to play this album seven or eight times a day, and although I never got to that level I did use to play it almost every day and could quite happily set it on repeat and settle down for a few hours. Considering its almost normal structure (two guitars, bass, drums, occasional vocals) it's an extremely interesting and complex album, as well as being loads of fun to listen to.

Oddly, considering the critical mauling it's had down the years, my no.2 (were I allowed one) would be "Second Coming" by The Stone Roses. I bloody love that record.

Neville Chamberlain

Quote from: Famous Mortimer on August 02, 2007, 10:44:26 AM
Slint – "Spiderland"

That album's been sitting on my shelf for years now. I listened to it once and couldn't get into it at all, but I definitely need to give it another go. Thanks for the reminder!

Anyways, my favourite album overall would have to be Sing to God by Cardiacs. Just fecking brilliant and fucked-up and all-over-the-place and intense. Ludicrously brilliant stuff.

If I could take a couple more albums, then I'd probably go for Wrong by NoMeansNo and Double Nickels on the Dime by The Minutemen or something like that, or maybe Ritual de lo Habitual by Jane's Addiction or perhaps something by The Fall.

Famous Mortimer

Quote from: Neville Chamberlain on August 02, 2007, 10:53:54 AM
That album's been sitting on my shelf for years now. I listened to it once and couldn't get into it at all, but I definitely need to give it another go. Thanks for the reminder!

Anyways, my favourite album overall would have to be Sing to God by Cardiacs. Just fecking brilliant and fucked-up and all-over-the-place and intense. Ludicrously brilliant stuff.

If I could take a couple more albums, then I'd probably go for Wrong by NoMeansNo and Double Nickels on the Dime by The Minutemen or something like that, or maybe Ritual de lo Habitual by Jane's Addiction or perhaps something by The Fall.
A fine bunch of albums from yourself too. I made a loads of friends in halls of residence my first Uni year by joining a crammed-full kitchen of people dancing to "Ritual De Lo Habitual".

Paranormalhandy

Today?  It would have to be "Frankenchrist" by the Dead Kennedys.  Those fuzzy guitars (are they even guitars?) takes me straight back to late adolescence.

Tom The Funkee Homosapien

I would say mine would have to be Gorillaz second album Demon Days because of its different vocals performances with Albarn changing his tone and pitch in different songs and I like the inclusion of other artist such as De La Soul, Neneh Cherry, Martina Topley-Bird, Roots Manuva, MF DOOM, Ike Turner, Bootie Brown, Shaun Ryder, Dennis Hopper which bring in a wealth of flavors and the two choirs in it the London Community Gospel Choir and the Children's Choir of San Fernandez. Which in my opinion were extremely good especially the London choir's part in the very last song Demon days. Also I like the upbeat typos of songs such as Kids with guns, Dirty Harry and Dare. Also the rap inclusions in some of the songs were a nice little surprise for me and i enjoyed them.
Long live MURDOC NICALLS!!!!!!

P.S does anyone recommend Damon recent work The Good, the Bad and the Queen.
P.P.S can't wait for the Gorillaz movie with the band playing other characters not themselves.

BJB

Quote from: Tom The Funkee Homosapien on August 02, 2007, 01:26:32 PM

P.S does anyone recommend Damon recent work The Good, the Bad and the Queen.


I'v only heard Herculean but i must say, it is a beautiful song. I'll get round to listening to the rest later.

drberbatov

Mars Volta - de-loused in the comatorium, took me a while to get into but its a masterpiece

Deadman97


A note-perfect masterpiece, and the beginning and end of all music.

mister_enmity

Massive Attack's Mezzanine. Such a lovely album, considering its downtempo soundscapes.

Quote from: Pseudopath on August 02, 2007, 12:05:27 AM
I personally could never get tired of OK Computer.

Neither would I, if Thom Yorke's voice was vocoded and distorted, like in Kid A.

Kid A would be another choice for me.

I'd go for OK Computer but that would be boring so I'll stump for The Ideal Crash by dEUS. A beautifully crafted, layered, wonderful masterpiece.

Ckris

Aphex Twin's Selected Ambient Works. I have listened to it for years and I'll continue to  do so. Other albums I dip into every now and then but Selected Ambient Works is the one album I can listen to from beginning to end without ever feeling the need to listen to something else.

Ciarán

With a question like this it depends on which day you ask me. Since I've only read the question today I'll talk about my favourite record right at this moment, on this day in history, as we speak etc (Get on with it! - Ed.) which is 'Introspective' by the Pet Shop Boys from 1988. Oh 'Introspective', how do I love thee, let me count the ways...

1. It has a brilliant sleeve. Unlike 'Please' and 'Actually' which are stark, white affairs, this is all vibrant colour. The posters and promo stands in HMV and the Virgin Megastore in the run ups to its release were well exciting...



2. It's a very summery record. It didn't come out in the summer, it came out in September. But the 'Domino Dancing' is very latino-tinged, and the video is full of summery images - sweaty nightclubs, swealtering whitewashed apartments basking in the sun, the streets of some Hispanic town baking in the heat, and two topless boys frolicking in the foamy sea. Er, yes.

3. There are only 6 tracks on the album and all but one of them were singles. It's a sort of compilation of 12" mixes, but two of these hadn't been released as singles beforehand. 'Left To My Own Devices' is completely bonkers of course, and the version here is even longer and more grandiose than the single. 'Always On My Mind' reappears as "Always On My Mind/ In My House' which sees their Christmas number one from 1987  blossom into this housey stormer. 'Domino Dancing' and future single 'It's Alright' are present and correct (the latter being much housier than the single version). And 'I'm Not Scared', the single they wrote and produced for Eighth Wonder in March '88 pops up sounding quite odd. All military marching band samples and spooky strings. Finally there's the non-single, which is the best track on the album. 'I Want A Dog' had been a b-side, but it appears here in its Frankie Knuckles remixed form. A greater rhythm and bass track has never been committed to vinyl. Utterly tremendous.

4. It's "of its time". A house album in 1988. That's a brilliant thing to do for your third album. 'It's Alright' was a cover of Sterling Void's house "classic".

5. It's always danceable and uptempo, but also rather downbeat or, well, "introspective". Apparently Neil Tennant's mother was concerned about some of the lyrics in 'Left To My Own Devices', the bit were it goes "I was a lonely boy, no strenghth, no joy/ In a world of my own at the back of the garden/ I didn't want to compete or play out in the street/ For in a secret life I was a Roundhead general".

6. That the phrase "roundhead general" can crop up in a top 10 hit still excites me.

Well, I'm going to stop counting now, but never let it be said that this is a mere stop-gap album, or one of PSB's lesser outings. It remains, almost twenty years after its release, an absolute corker. Go out and buy the 2001 two-disc re-issue which contains the completely ludicrous b-side 'The Sound Of The Atom Splitting' and the really rather lovely 'Your Funny Uncle'. In the meantime, here are the main singles from it...

Domino Dancing
Left To My Own Devices
It's Alright

sproggy

Lately, I would say Zappa's 'Joes Garage'.  Superb musicianship, plenty of rude words and a great narrative, it's like a novel in sonic form.  I find the sign of a good album is when you wake up with one of the tracks playing in your head.

TC Raymond

The Who - Who's Next (1971)

Something obscure is cooler, but fuck that.

weekender

Quote from: Tom The Funkee Homosapien on August 02, 2007, 01:26:32 PMP.S does anyone recommend Damon recent work The Good, the Bad and the Queen.

Yes, it's a cracking album.  Albarn continues to astonish me, both Gorillaz albums are excellent, no idea where the musical ideas for those came from.  The Good, the Bad and the Queen album is also excellent, I'm trying to work out the difference in styles between them, and I can't, even though there IS a markedly different style between them.

Either way, Albarn seems to have been afforded the luxury of being able to play with music, collaborate with people on their own terms, and then seeing what they come up with.  The results so far are looking very, very good - I can't recommend his recent musical collaborations enough.

QuoteP.P.S can't wait for the Gorillaz movie with the band playing other characters not themselves.

That sounds good, do you have any more information please?

Sorry for hijacking the thread a bit.

benthalo

#21
Quite agree on Introspective, Ciaran. The bit in the middle of Domino Dancing where it all goes a bit frantic is one of my favourite things in music.

My other is the album Computer World by Kraftwerk. Nothing matches it, especially the first 25" of 'Numbers'.

CaledonianGonzo

I was going to say that one by the Who where they piss on a monolith, but I'd like to hear more about stuff that's:

a) more obscure
b) cooler

And, in other news, Exile.


Sam

For me it is unquestionably:



I have listened to it literally hundreds of times all the way through and I never tire of it. Literally sublime.

Viero_Berlotti

#24
Bochum Welt - Module 2 (Rephlex, 1996)



Probably the best of the early Rephlex releases. Module 2 is definitely in the obscure category, but is a genuinely great album.

It's the first track that usually puts people off, it's harder than the rest of the album and more challenging to the ears, but after a complete listen the first track makes sense and fits into the album as a whole.

From the second track however the album takes off. Most of this kind of stuff from around that time was, and still is, bloated and self-indulgent, but not so with Module 2. A majority of the tracks clock in at under 3 minutes. The simple, melodic, "warm", analogue compositions carry a real emotional depth, creating that rare thing; an "electronica" album with heart and soul and a timeless feel that will never sound dated. Highly recommended.

BJB

Quote from: weekender on August 02, 2007, 09:31:03 PM

That sounds good, do you have any more information please?



Terry Gilliam is supposed to be involved.

It had better be good. Murdoc promises at the end of rise of the ogre that it will make demon days look like a warm up act.

NoSleep

#26

Live/Evil-Miles Davis

This has to be the most-played album in my collection, and I never tire of listening to it. Most of it was recorded over 4 days (16-19 Dec 1970) live at the Cellar Door Washington, with Keith Jarrett on electric keyboards, John Mclaughlin on guitar, Airto Moriera on percussion, Gary Bartz - sax & Jack DeJohnette - drums. The album is a testament to the importance of Teo Macero's contribution to Miles' sound. Having listened to the entire Cellar Door sessions, the editing & mixing of by Macero to produce the end result we have here shows a remarkable ear for pacing and musicality on his part. For instance, one of my favourite moments is the unaccompanied electric piano solo taken by Jarrett during Funk Tonk (17:16 - 21:35) was made better by some micro-surgery from Teo, removing the noodling and retaining the fat-free musical parts of what is called "Improvisation #4" on the Cellar Door Sessions set. I'm not sure there's anybody else who would have the wisdom & bravery to edit musicians like Jarrett or Miles and come out trumps.
That said, my favourite piece is presented without a single edit from the original recording - What I Say is a joy to behold in it's 21:12 entirety. Miles in a rare 'up' mode. Like gospel from hell.

Everybody on these tracks is on fire throughout, but Keith Jarrett is outstanding, especially given that he is known principally as an acoustic pianist. I don't think he would have played electric instruments were it not for Miles. Miles famously asked him during his tenure in the band, "How does it feel to be a genius?"

And don't forget the three miniatures, Little Church, Nem Um Talvez & Selim, all the result of a collaboration with Hermeto Pascoal. Used here as beautiful moody interludes between the steamy improvisations of the Cellar Door settings. Nor the Mood-Metal of Medley:Gemini/Double Image, featuring Joe Zawinul's composition Double Image alongside the rock guitar musings of Mclaughlin (also features Chick Corea, Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Billy Cobham, Dave Holland, Khalil Balakrishna & Jack DeJohnette).




Identity Crisis Ahoy!

At this point in time - Exile on Main Street by the Rolling Stones. Not even a doubt in my mind about this.
Ask me 6 months ago it would'a been Tonight's The Night by Neil Young... and there wouldn't have been a doubt about that neither.

I know that's a shock to you all.


Glebe

Quote from: Deadman97 on August 02, 2007, 02:11:22 PM
A note-perfect masterpiece, and the beginning and end of all music.

Hmmm, I'm tempted, but I think I'll go for either



or