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March 28, 2024, 03:41:40 PM

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Bobby Conn - 'Recovery'

Started by Egyptian Feast, March 24, 2020, 11:06:00 AM

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Egyptian Feast

It's been a long wait since the last Bobby Conn album Macaroni came out in 2012 (less so if you count last year's Baudelaire adaptation Delicious Night - Baudelaire In A Box). He's finally back with a new album, Recovery, just when we need him most. I haven't heard it yet as I'm saving it for when the working day ends and I can spark up, but according to some who have, it couldn't have come out at a more appropriate time. Here's the first single, 'Disaster'.

Any other Bobby Conn fans here?

phantom_power

Never Get Ahead is a fucking classic but not really explored beyond that. Added this to my lockdown playlist

alan nagsworth

Quote from: Egyptian Feast on March 24, 2020, 11:06:00 AM
Any other Bobby Conn fans here?

We did briefly speak about him at the CaB meet (though we were both fairly sozzled, I believe) as I had picked up a couple of his albums at a record exchange knowing nowt about him but using my hardened experience of gauging interest based on a record's art and song titles to figure it was probably worth a punt. I definitely wasn't disappointed, as I found his freaky eclectic conceptual glam style highly interesting and unfortunately underrated.

That new single "Disaster" is good stuff - a solid whack of quirky dramatic pop - and I'm looking forward to checking the album out.

Egyptian Feast

Quote from: alan nagsworth on March 24, 2020, 11:46:53 AM
We did briefly speak about him at the CaB meet (though we were both fairly sozzled, I believe)

I forgot we talked about him, but as you say, we were both sozzled. That evening seems so long ago now. Back in the olden days. A better time.

For anyone looking for a good place to start with Bobby Conn, I'd recommend any one of the trilogy Rise Up!, The Golden Age (his best album, IMHO) and The Homeland.

Quote from: phantom_power on March 24, 2020, 11:31:37 AM
Never Get Ahead is a fucking classic but not really explored beyond that. Added this to my lockdown playlist

It is a total banger. Someone on here once saw this clip at the top of a 'worst videos of all time' list on VH1, the deranged fools. Unfortunately the album it's from, his self-titled debut, is far from his best and definitely the wrong place to start.

Brundle-Fly

Quote from: Egyptian Feast on March 24, 2020, 12:02:14 PM

For anyone looking for a good place to start with Bobby Conn, I'd recommend any one of the trilogy Rise Up!, The Golden Age (his best album, IMHO) and The Homeland.



This is correct.

lazyhour

I listened to The Golden Age today while having a self-isolating walk on the cliffs overlooking the sea where I live. He's the flipping best. Have you read Pitchfork's stupid 1-star review of that album?

Really liked Macaroni. Looking forward to the new 'un!

Enzo

I think it was Alternative Nation on MTV playing the never get ahead video at about 1:30am that got me into him in the first place. He definitely had a cult status in my group of friends as a result of me taping the video and playing it repeatedly.

Golden age is definitely his best album in my opinion. Still bang 'Angels' out on the car stereo from time to time.

alan nagsworth

I stuck Golden Age on this evening whilst roasting some potatoes and yeah that shit absolutely bangs. Such a varied array of styles all meshing together so well!

Yeh both Angels and Never get ahead were circulated quite often on Mtv 2 and that circa 2003...with Never Get Ahead definitely earning no 1 in a "Worst videos of all time" type list... "Top ten somethingest something" programmes were huge at the time weren't they, whilst knowing, self-aware ironic music videos were yet to be a thing...nowadays everyone from tyler the creator to connan mockasin are making those kind of purposefully cringy awkward videos. Nowadays viewers would think it was great and not look twice. Maybe he was just ahead of his time 😄

I've given a couple of his albums a listen through but not properly...will definitely have a listen to this new one

Egyptian Feast

I'm still reserving judgement on Recovery, it's got some great stuff but still hasn't caught hold of me as a whole. I've had a bunch of his songs stuck in my head all week, but they're all from The Golden Age and The Homeland.
'Home Sweet Home' is currently lodging in my head.

sutin

Quote from: Egyptian Feast on March 24, 2020, 12:02:14 PM
For anyone looking for a good place to start with Bobby Conn, I'd recommend any one of the trilogy Rise Up!, The Golden Age (his best album, IMHO) and The Homeland.

Big disagree from me. As great as The Golden Age is, I consider The Homeland his unparalleled masterpiece.

Quote from: Enzo on March 24, 2020, 10:06:51 PM
I think it was Alternative Nation on MTV playing the never get ahead video at about 1:30am that got me into him in the first place. He definitely had a cult status in my group of friends as a result of me taping the video and playing it repeatedly.

I discovered Bobby Conn through Alternative Nation's repeated showing of the Never Get Ahead video too. I didn't have Sky but a VHS tape found it's way to me in the summer of 1998.

Egyptian Feast

It took a while to grow on me, but I now think this album is fantastic and perfectly timed. It's got me listening to his previous couple King For A Day and Macaroni again. I'd forgotten how good both are, especially the former. It's his most sprawling album, his proggiest record, but all the excess is worth it. I love the moment Bobby starts singing 'When The Money's Gone' following the eight minute mostly instrumental opening track 'Vanitas'. Also, 'A Glimpse Of Paradise' sounds like it could have been the theme tune to an old TV programme, perhaps one about a foreign detective. It's an overlooked classic, like the preceding three albums.

lazyhour

Thanks for the nudge - I bought it at the time but only the title track King For A Day clicked with me. I ripped and have listened to that song so many times. It's amazing. Need to go back to the album.