Music

[Brah]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoSn2Y-b6wI
Steve Winwood // Blind Faith - "Can't Find My Way Home"


Near where I grew up. As a child I used to go play with my school-friend who's parents lived in this 'pile' [i.e. huge house]. Then owned by John Entwhistle of The Who.

Love Steve Winwood. A top bloke by all accounts, and the music is just sublime.

Winwood navigated the 60s, 70s and 80s gracefully with The Spencer Davis Group, Traffic, Blind Faith, and his solo stuff which still holds up, unlike a lot of 80s stuff that sound like silly haircuts decades later.

I wore out my vinyl on this, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4e6gH4yUl2k he masterfully played keyboard bass like it was an electric bass though most people probably didn't catch that, I mention only because he chose to made it so prominent. And he played everything.

But I think more of Traffic and SDG when I think of Winwood. A tragedy that bands like Traffic are so little known.

[Brah]

ok this is the last on, its an awesome tune

I preferred this to the early one. Interesting mix of genres with this group.
The Sevendust as well.

[JR8]

I wore out my vinyl on this, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4e6gH4yUl2k he masterfully played keyboard bass like it was an electric bass though most people probably didn't catch that, I mention only because he chose to made it so prominent. And he played everything.

Interesting stuff, I don't think I've heard that before.
I'm curious how one might know it was a keyboard (KB) bass? I have a friend who records with him playing all the instruments, he doesn't play drums so that's presumably via the KB, but the guitars are the physical instruments. Even watching the linked video through, I was none the wiser that it was a KB-bass...

... that's a really funk-based bassline he's got going on there, nice...

[JR8]

Opeth – a bit ‘epic’, crass symbolism, gave up at 3:00, just too self-indulgent.

Butthole Surfers – Musically more interesting. Video pretty cliched (don’t know how old it is). Get’s dirgey, never grabs me.

Anathema – Not sure about the child being the main feature in the vid. Is she running away, or meant as a proxy for adult feelings/emotions. The vocals are nice, reminds me of Morten Harket of A-Ha, and love them or loath him he had extraordinary vocals. .... Oh God, bombs!! Let’s guess, we’re going to get to see into the child’s suitcase? The innocence of childhood. The real-world cruelly interrupts. Two toddlers holding hands walking into the distance down a dusty lane – unbearable mawkish. Mitigating factor: Really very talented vocals.

Anathema2 – Oh no cello in the intro, this is going to try and be ‘deep’. A 2 minute cello-based intro [!], now going into a down and dirty GnR style solo guitar ‘pick-up’ into a theme. Oh. [Can we have some gun videos or summink?]. 3.20m gets picking up. Nope, false dawn. 4.10m – keys, and... the ‘triumphant finale’, then it’s over.

Anathema3 – Cello. Hang on this is just a remix of the above. Right, that’s off then

Sevendust – The Wait. I like the ‘unorthodox’ chord structure coming in in the intro. Nice vocals, and everything tight behind them. Overall structure works better towards a memorable whole. The track enters ‘exit mode’/reprise at 3.30/4.25.

Bite me! Just off the cuff impressions....

---- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7yhi1c_q6s - Sevendust- Face To Face
Still reckon this is my fav Sevendust track to date. Yes it's a 4-chord song [shock!]. but it has plenty of grit to counter-balance that. There's something slightly unusual going on with the drums, mixed 'high', or one drum to a slightly alt rythmn, noticable to me at c1:30m, then again at 2:45m... don't know, but it makes for an interesting recording.

I think the ^ was the first Sevendust track I heard, that prompted me to buy their album, some while back now, the mid-00s or so...

[all IMHO, and horses for courses. I'm well aware that 90% would 'actively un-relish' what I'm into ]

[Brah]

I wore out my vinyl on this, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4e6gH4yUl2k he masterfully played keyboard bass like it was an electric bass though most people probably didn't catch that, I mention only because he chose to made it so prominent. And he played everything.

Interesting stuff, I don't think I've heard that before.
I'm curious how one might know it was a keyboard (KB) bass? I have a friend who records with him playing all the instruments, he doesn't play drums so that's presumably via the KB, but the guitars are the physical instruments. Even watching the linked video through, I was none the wiser that it was a KB-bass...

... that's a really funk-based bassline he's got going on there, nice...

I would say that Arc Of A Diver is one of the top 10 or 20 seminal albums that defined the 80s sound.

[rajagainstthemachine]

@JR8's commentary on the Crosby stills & Nash concert : the star arts performing center at BV is a really nice venue to see a band, the last time I was there I watched deep purple in 2013.
lovely sound and acoustics, although the idea of watching a concert seated doesn't quite appeal to me.

@Opeth - Hit and miss with many people, many like it and many don't, early albums of theirs were death metal with growling vocals, later they switched to clean vocals and progressive.
I'll see if i can find one of their earlier songs

@avantasia - hit and miss once again, progressive band with a mix of many genres but very talented bunch

@butthole surfers - not quite sure where to fit them, they wouldn't be a regular inclusion on my playlist.
sort of similar to Primus

@sevendust - always associated this band with nu-metal, did they somehow change genres at some point?

[rajagainstthemachine]

I wore out my vinyl on this, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4e6gH4yUl2k he masterfully played keyboard bass like it was an electric bass though most people probably didn't catch that, I mention only because he chose to made it so prominent. And he played everything.

But I think more of Traffic and SDG when I think of Winwood. A tragedy that bands like Traffic are so little known.

thanks for that! this stuff is excellent.

[nakatago]

@sevendust - always associated this band with nu-metal, did they somehow change genres at some point?

Their early efforts were indeed associated as such but the band had never said "we must stick with this genre/label!"; having all of their albums, it's just a natural progression for them learning new things, going through life and just general growing older. Their acoustic efforts, for example, was because "hey, we haven't tried that; let's do that!"

Heck; even the flag-bearer of nu-metal Korn has had a progressively different sound with each album.

[Brah]

thanks for that! this stuff is excellent.

If you liked that, you might like what he did as a member of an accomplished band. Albeit a very different, earthier vibe. It's a good start, all of their albums have a particular character and somewhat different from the rest.

Traffic-The Low Spark of High-heeled Boys https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YY-_Y_7p55M
Nice how they have full albums on YT, as this is really how they were meant to be heard

[JR8]

If you liked that, you might like what he did as a member of an accomplished band. Albeit a very different, earthier vibe. It's a good start, all of their albums have a particular character and somewhat different from the rest. Traffic-The Low Spark of High-heeled Boys

Very nice. Thoughts:
Something of a concept album (so quite of it's time).
Interesting to hear Winwood's early-year vocals.
The occasional flute reminds me a bit of chilled-out Jethro Tull (and later on of Focus)
Very easy to kick-back and mellow out to.
What electric KBs are those? 'Hammond' or something else?
'Sitar style' guitar effect.... wow!
29:14 and around, love that prominent bassline
SW's vocals remind me slightly of earlier Rod Stewart!?
etc.

Nice one.

[Brah]

If you liked that, you might like what he did as a member of an accomplished band. Albeit a very different, earthier vibe. It's a good start, all of their albums have a particular character and somewhat different from the rest. Traffic-The Low Spark of High-heeled Boys

Very nice. Thoughts:
Something of a concept album (so quite of it's time).
Interesting to hear Winwood's early-year vocals.
The occasional flute reminds me a bit of chilled-out Jethro Tull (and later on of Focus)
Very easy to kick-back and mellow out to.
What electric KBs are those? 'Hammond' or something else?
'Sitar style' guitar effect.... wow!
29:14 and around, love that prominent bassline
SW's vocals remind me slightly of earlier Rod Stewart!?
etc.

Nice one.

I had to check, not a reliable source but
"the instrument on the closing of 'Low Spark'is a Farfisa organ" which doesn't suprise me as ai don't think a B3 can get as reedy as that.

That somewhat 'jazz rock' as it was called then, was preceded by some Garage-y / Psychedelic stuff like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cp_3NEWTzU

[rajagainstthemachine]

@brah I'll give that a listen sometime later this week

and i found this hilarious

http://loudwire.com/mom-fired-gunshots- ... mus-video/

[Brah]

@brah I'll give that a listen sometime later this week

and i found this hilarious

http://loudwire.com/mom-fired-gunshots- ... mus-video/

I know it's cool to think that Primus are cool and most think Claypool is amazing, but I never really took to them and was never wowed by his playing. But they are nothing to shoot at!

[JR8]

Going back to the style of 60/70s keyboards ('organs' then as they were known). The brand name of Farfisa came up. I hadn't heard of them before, so Wiki'd them.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farfisa

I followed two suggested examples, and came up with:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBTT3VPriV8
'THE COUNT FIVE-'PSYCHOTIC REACTION',(1966).wmv'

Dressed up in blazers and ties etc, but pretty angry sounding for their day!

and...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=De6hDeHyYH4
'Swingin' Medallions - She Drives Me Out Of My Mind (1966)'

More of a popcorn jukebox song, but none the less the above two give an idea of what the Farfisa organ sounds like... so thanks, I learned something new there!

[Brah]

Going back to the style of 60/70s keyboards ('organs' then as they were known). The brand name of Farfisa came up. I hadn't heard of them before, so Wiki'd them.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farfisa

I followed two suggested examples, and came up with:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBTT3VPriV8
'THE COUNT FIVE-'PSYCHOTIC REACTION',(1966).wmv'

Dressed up in blazers and ties etc, but pretty angry sounding for their day!

and...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=De6hDeHyYH4
'Swingin' Medallions - She Drives Me Out Of My Mind (1966)'

More of a popcorn jukebox song, but none the less the above two give an idea of what the Farfisa organ sounds like... so thanks, I learned something new there!

I'm very familiar with The Count Five from my old Nuggets collection, they are one of the best bands from the Garage era, though I don't hear any Farfisa in it, I didn't know they even had keys, thought they were a guitar band.

More recent examples of the Farfisa sound are https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4Ty_ienYE8 but that's cheating, and was my favorite Squeeze song as the others were so overplayed on the radio
will think of others