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Those albums you haven't touched in years

Started by 23 Daves, June 21, 2012, 06:00:50 PM

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23 Daves

You know, that "worst records in your collection" thread has got me thinking.  To try to get ideas for what I could talk about, I had a quick look through my CD collection and found it was surprisingly guff-free, but I did encounter large pockets of CDs I simply hadn't played in the best part of 6-7 years, in some cases even a decade or more.

Case number one, under the "A" section: an ambient album by Aura called "Butterflychrysaliscaterpillar".  I was sent this for review at some point in the mid-nineties and gave it a semi-favourable write-up, but ultimately neither disliked the CD enough to give it away, nor liked it enough to refer back to it again.  I genuinely don't believe I've played it since the nineties, and I'd be curious to know what I make of it now.  I can barely even remember what it sounds like.

Suede's "Dog Man Star" is another example - I loved this album at one point, but I haven't felt the compulsion to listen to it in a long while.  I don't make a diary note of my listening habits, so I can't be sure, but I'm pretty sure my last listen to it from start to finish was at least ten years ago. 

Similarly, there are disappointing second albums galore on my shelves, stuff I bought in HMV in two-for-ten-pounds deals, and I'm wondering just how much of my collection should really be there at all.  I gather a lot of comfort from the volume of CDs and LPs I own, but in reality I probably only refer to about 15% of them on a reasonably regular basis.  A lot of the rest are flotsam and jetsam, representations of things that meant something to me once but don't anymore, or never really meant anything to me in the first place beyond being "a nice listen with a couple of really good tracks for good measure".

Have any of you ever revisited random, long unlistened to records from your collection and taken stock of your current thoughts about them?  If so, were you surprised by what you found?  Did albums you previously wrote off as mediocre reveal new depths to you, or did that supposed classic suddenly seem unexpectedly flawed?  I'm wondering what might happen if I make a habit of revisiting at least one of these neglected LPs a week. 

BlodwynPig

ELP's Tarkus....a lot of prog of that ilk. Sounds quite refreshing after some years out.

QtheRaider

Found some albums in my Mums loft the other day i must have left them up there years ago was playing one yesterday called White Lightnin on island records from 1975 dont remember buying it sounds a bit like play that funky music by Wild Cherry was a nice find.

also found The Yes Album looking forward to listning to that

Roy*Mallard

There are loads of albums that i have loved, overplayed and never returned to - everything by the Pixies, most Radiohead alums, Supergrass' first album - loved them at different periods, but i can't face listening to them now, and so they stay on a shelf, unloved and unused. Neu! 1 & 2 - again, loved them during the early/mid 90's, but whenever i need some Neu! i instantly leap for Neu! 75. I know i'm missing out, but Neu! 75 is so fucking stunningly good that i just can't go back.

I bought Neil Young's debut album (self titled) a long time ago when I snaffled up a whole load of his albums, and I didn't like it much at all at the time, but dug it out recently and really enjoyed it.  It has a kind of gentle psychedelic feel that isn't captured on any of his other albums.

I also gave a spin to 'Now Here is Nowhere' by Secret Machines - one of these mid 2000s indie bands I had pretty much forgotten about - and really enjoyed it.

I also have plenty of over-familiar, overplayed stuff from the 90s like Radiohead that I haven't played in years.  Latter period REM albums as well, and the over-familiar stuff like Automatic for the People and Out of Time.  There are probably a few things from the 90s like the less popular Boo Radleys albums (C'mon Kids) and Harmacy by Sebadoh that I should probably dig out and give a spin though.

Egyptian Feast

Quote from: 23 Daves on June 21, 2012, 06:00:50 PM
I'm wondering what might happen if I make a habit of revisiting at least one of these neglected LPs a week.

I like to do this on Sundays - take a break from whatever I've been obsessing over lately, and dig out some forgotten gems from the LP and CD collection. I've rediscovered The Go-Betweens and Fatima Mansions this way quite recently, and both have become current obsessions.

Famous Mortimer

I did a thing about 5 years ago where I ripped all my albums to FLACs and then put them all in my sister's attic, so I don't "see" the albums to dig them out again. But every now and again I'll just start my music collection at random and hear something I've not played for donkey's years.

I heard a track by mid-late-90s Pavement-alikes Urusei Yatsura recently, and I just had no reaction to it at all. Maybe it was because, as a busy zine reader / writer at the time, I knew the band before they were a band (they did a zine, and made lo-fi tapes) so I was all excited when they started getting big. Unfortunately, their music hasn't stood the test of time, and maybe it never did.

Scott Walker's solo albums 1 - 4. I was absolutely obsessed with them, and his voice particularly, during a very harrowing, dark and alcoholic time of my life. I couldn't bear to listen to him at all for about fifteen years, but then The Drift came out and I love that shit. I don;t think I'd be able to get through any of that 60s stuff again though. As well as all the dirty sediment and dregs that would get swirled up I think I'd feel a bit embarrassed - I kind of loathe sixties pop now as it is.

Roy*Mallard

Quote from: Famous Mortimer on June 22, 2012, 03:33:37 PM
I heard a track by mid-late-90s Pavement-alikes Urusei Yatsura recently, and I just had no reaction to it at all. Maybe it was because, as a busy zine reader / writer at the time, I knew the band before they were a band (they did a zine, and made lo-fi tapes) so I was all excited when they started getting big. Unfortunately, their music hasn't stood the test of time, and maybe it never did.

Ah, but 'Kewpies Like Watermelon' is an absolute belter!

23 Daves

Quote from: Roy*Mallard on June 22, 2012, 04:45:34 PM
Ah, but 'Kewpies Like Watermelon' is an absolute belter!

Funny this should come up on this thread actually, as Urusei are one band I've actually dug out again over the last few weeks - and I'm actually quite enjoying a lot of their output.  True, it's rather derivative and it's not classic material by any means, but it's certainly got an enjoyable JAMC-meets-Pavement roughness and energy to it.  There were far, far worse indie bands around at that time. 

The band I'm presently getting the most "What did I see in this bunch?" feelings about are The Divine Comedy, I'm sorry to say.  The odd brilliant moment, but their albums are glued to the gills with knowing, cold irony which I thought was very clever at the time and played constantly, but now feels a bit too smug.  A shame, because when Hannon lets his true emotions through he can be great. 

hummingofevil

Quote from: Roy*Mallard on June 22, 2012, 01:00:56 PM
There are loads of albums that i have loved, overplayed and never returned to - everything by the Pixies, most Radiohead alums, Supergrass' first album - loved them at different periods, but i can't face listening to them now, and so they stay on a shelf, unloved and unused. Neu! 1 & 2 - again, loved them during the early/mid 90's, but whenever i need some Neu! i instantly leap for Neu! 75. I know i'm missing out, but Neu! 75 is so fucking stunningly good that i just can't go back.

This sums it up for me. Its not that I miss albums necessarily but whether it a band, author, director, actor, whatever, one I have onething that I love about them I find it difficult to care about the rest of their body of work. That why I get it wrong.

Mogwai - Young Team
Springsteen - Nebraska
Toots - Pressure drop
Pavement - Brighten the Corners
Japanese Cinema - Battle Royale
Sculpture - Brancusi's The Kiss

Its not that I dont care but once I love something  I seem to lose interest in other equally brilliant stuff.

another Mr. Lizard

Quote from: 23 Daves on June 21, 2012, 06:00:50 PM
Have any of you ever revisited random, long unlistened to records from your collection and taken stock of your current thoughts about them?  If so, were you surprised by what you found? 

My favourite album of 1982 was 'Fiction' by the Comsat Angels. Two or three years ago, I put together a bootlegged 8-disc 'post punk' compilation, to distribute amongst a few mates, and dug 'Fiction' out again to select a suitable track for inclusion. Jesus - it was unlistenable. May revisit it again in 30 years time, to discover it was the masterpiece I'd figured it to be on release.

A timely thread, this, as I'm in the middle of moving to a new house and have the opportunity to set up a 'listening room' where I can store all of my vinyl, cds etc and can hide away to indulge in musical favourites. While unpacking the boxes/crates and putting all of this on the shelf, it's given me the chance to play a few albums I've not heard for too long. Yesterday afternoon's selection being 'Bandwagonesque' - last played around 1998, I guess, and still sounding quite, quite lovely - I've been humming 'December' to myself for the past 24 hours, can't get it out of my head. 

Famous Mortimer

Quote from: 23 Daves on June 22, 2012, 06:16:19 PM
Funny this should come up on this thread actually, as Urusei are one band I've actually dug out again over the last few weeks - and I'm actually quite enjoying a lot of their output.  True, it's rather derivative and it's not classic material by any means, but it's certainly got an enjoyable JAMC-meets-Pavement roughness and energy to it.  There were far, far worse indie bands around at that time. 
Oh god yes, many worse bands. My boxes of 7"s were rationalised about 3 years ago, and the number of shockingly bad mid 90s bands I still had records by upset me - I listened to all of them before they went on the charity pile, and it was a hard, hard slog.

Brundle-Fly

Quote from: r brydons gossamer weave on June 22, 2012, 03:47:57 PM
Scott Walker's solo albums 1 - 4. I was absolutely obsessed with them, and his voice particularly, during a very harrowing, dark and alcoholic time of my life. I couldn't bear to listen to him at all for about fifteen years, but then The Drift came out and I love that shit. I don;t think I'd be able to get through any of that 60s stuff again though. As well as all the dirty sediment and dregs that would get swirled up I think I'd feel a bit embarrassed - I kind of loathe sixties pop now as it is.

That's a real shame, to 'loathe sixties pop'. I can't imagine such a scenario. I know quite a few people now (or people on the net) who hate sixties pop, particularly The Beatles. It's like 1979 all over again.

PaulTMA

Quote from: Brundle-Fly on June 25, 2012, 03:05:31 PM
That's a real shame, to 'loathe sixties pop'. I can't imagine such a scenario. I know quite a few people now (or people on the net) who hate sixties pop, particularly The Beatles. It's like 1979 all over again.

A lot of psudeo-hipster types believe one is meant the hate The Beatles because they are the same thing as Kasabian.

Subtle Mocking

It's easy to become bored of 60s pop. There was a point later on in the decade where it just fell off completely.

Brundle-Fly

Quote from: Subtle Mocking on June 26, 2012, 11:54:19 AM
It's easy to become bored of 60s pop. There was a point later on in the decade where it just fell off completely.

There is a lot of it though.

CaledonianGonzo

A lot of my favourite pop music comes from the late 60s - though I suppose you could argue the toss over whether hit singles like Honky Tonk Women, Bad Moon Rising, Pinball Wizard, All Along The Watchtower, etc. are pop music or rock music.

My answer would be 'both'.

Absorb the anus burn

Wishbone Ash's Argus and Caravan's In The Land Of Grey And Pink.

In the late 90s I overdosed on early seventies progressive albums, and decided to cull loads of stuff that wasn't Krautrock, Zeuhl or RIO. Melodies from both Argus & Grey & Pink would fire through my brain so often that I repurchased them, only to be played once, filed away and largely ignored.

This year, both of them are providing much joy and have been given dozens of spins...  Side two of the Caravan LP is a brilliant song suite that justifies its length. Argus is a revelation. Without any keyboard parts, it sounds very unprogressive and there are moments of angular jangle that come across as proto post punk (*) mixed in with the hard rock.


(*) apologies for the hideous expression proto post punk.

Endicott

Quote from: Absorb the anus burn on June 26, 2012, 12:41:39 PM
Wishbone Ash's Argus

I've been meaning to get this out and put it under the needle for about 6 months. I seem to have changed my habits and hardly listen to music apart from when I'm commuting. This needs to change.

QtheRaider

Just had a listen to Stanley Clarkes Journey to Love for the first time in years
sounds better than i remember it... formidable

garbed_attic

Catatonia - who I still reckon are very underrated and show moments of great grace and gravity, but they're stuck in the late 90s/ turn of the century for me.

Brundle-Fly

I realised yesterday that I haven't listened to any of my many Eels albums in well over half a decade and I'm not sure why.

bomb_dog

I have a load of late 90s CD singles clogging up my CD collection - most of dEUS 'roses' era singles, stuff like 'Good Good' by Korn, Dubstar's 'Goodbye' period singles.. 'I'll Do Ya' by Whale... I even bought this.

I haven't listened to them for years, though the single tracks were quite good. Can't quite bring myself to get rid of them. This is obviously irrational, as I haven't played them for years or think they are worth much, but somehow feel they are of value.

Is this the unconcious value of 'stuff'? How can I get rid without feeling guilt or that I've lost 'something'? I feel like they'd just clog up charity shops I gave them to, but would otherwise sit on e-bay for years unsold costing me listing fees...

Sling them in the bin? Use them as birdscarers down the allotment? Why is something that cost me £1.50-£2.00 twelve years ago still in my collection taunting me with house-space, having given me entertainment in the past, like drunken beer, but I still think is worth keeping around?

I'm obviously daft in the head.

Retinend

Quote from: gout_pony on June 28, 2012, 12:22:08 AM
Catatonia - who I still reckon are very underrated and show moments of great grace and gravity, but they're stuck in the late 90s/ turn of the century for me.

I feel just the same... also, increasingly the same regarding St. Etienne.

The Roofdog

When I started uni I'd just discovered Jeff Buckley and spent at least a year boring the arse off anyone who'd listen about how 'Grace' was absolutely, definitely the greatest album of all time. I was so dogmatic about it I can't listen to the record anymore, it makes me cringe to think about what a massive twat I became whenever a conversation about music started in my vicinity.

23 Daves

Quote from: The Roofdog on June 29, 2012, 06:11:42 PM
When I started uni I'd just discovered Jeff Buckley and spent at least a year boring the arse off anyone who'd listen about how 'Grace' was absolutely, definitely the greatest album of all time. I was so dogmatic about it I can't listen to the record anymore, it makes me cringe to think about what a massive twat I became whenever a conversation about music started in my vicinity.

I was a Buckley bore as well, having been sent a review copy of "Live at Sin-e" when it was first released and giving it five stars in the student magazine.  The interesting thing is I didn't expect anything much from the EP - it was one of the last things I played from my "to review" pile quite late at night, and I was just utterly dumbfounded by what came out of the speakers and nearly burst into tears during the Edith Piaf cover. 

I must admit I don't listen to him much anymore either.  It's not that he wasn't good, as he without question remains one of the most astonishing live performers I've ever seen, it's just that he's been ripped off and diluted so much by so many since. What once sounded unique and surprising now struggles to stand out much. And also, "Grace" - which I'd looked forward to a great deal - isn't a perfect album at all.  There are quite a few tracks on there which don't cut it, and the stand-out moments are cover versions. 

The Roofdog

Quote from: 23 Daves on June 29, 2012, 06:27:30 PM
"Grace" - which I'd looked forward to a great deal - isn't a perfect album at all.  There are quite a few tracks on there which don't cut it, and the stand-out moments are cover versions. 

Completely agree (now). Last weekend I actually went looking for '(sketches for) my sweetheart the drunk' as it was the only Buckley record I didn't play to death at the time, and I have a theory that maybe there were the seeds of some better songs on there, but ironically it seems I've lost my copy.

23 Daves

Quote from: The Roofdog on June 29, 2012, 07:02:25 PM
Completely agree (now). Last weekend I actually went looking for '(sketches for) my sweetheart the drunk' as it was the only Buckley record I didn't play to death at the time, and I have a theory that maybe there were the seeds of some better songs on there, but ironically it seems I've lost my copy.

Ditto! Or: I don't think I lost my copy, rather I think I loaned it to somebody and never got it back.  I've never been in any great hurry to replace it, though, as there wasn't really a single track on there I thought was in any way outstanding. 

The Plunger

'Sketches' is the very definition of patchy (as to be expected I suppose). But 'Everybody Here Wants You' was by far the stand-out track for me, still play this a lot :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrMwgTc69y4