The Official Needles and Grooves 1001 Album Generator Project

Lee Newman said:
I expected @avecigrec to extol the virtues of this album for us.

I always have a project record or two in the collection. For years The Shape of Jazz to Come was the nut I wanted to crack. I have that lovely Art Ensemble record. This thing though. Kind of like @TenderLovingKiller® said, on paper, I should like it but I just don’t understand what the fuck is going on.

I’ll also say this, TMR can make some absolute shit records. Then there is this thing that reportedly came from a safety and has WITHOUT A FUCKING DOUBT the best soundstage of any record I own. On speakers (this is a headphone listen) it feels like the sound just extends into infinity. I bet this is a trip on the right drugs (or a real bad night.)

I definitely think it belongs on the list even if I do find it mystifying and quite frankly ugly.

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Trout Mask is as far left of the dial as you can go with Van Vliet and his deconstruction of the blues. That's one of the things that makes it a total musical unicorn and with it being his most recognizable record also makes it a total disaster as an entry point for most folks.

When folks ask about getting into Van Vliet from ground zero, I point them to these two so I don't scare them off but give them a taste of the Beefheart vibe.

His most accessible record for the masses...



It's just a jump to the left...

 
avecigrec said:
Honestly, it's been at least 15 years since I've listened to it. Probably closer to 20. I don't reckon I much understood it back when, but I didn't dislike it either. Revisiting it is increasingly high on my to-do list, I just haven't picked up a copy yet.
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Lee Newman said:
Lester Bangs actually wrote a coherent review of it in Rolling Stone which kind of tells you an awful lot about it when you think about it. Lol
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I have a copy arriving next week to remedy this situation.
 
Was this a contractual obligation album? It was originally a U.K. only release. I know that. However, it imported so well it got a stateside release.
 
I have a lot of live albums in the collection. No idea how many really. (I mean, I like Phish and the Dead; and am a Prince, Neil, Hendrix nut … It’s quite possible I have more Neil live than @Joe Mac has live albums altogether.
 
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This is not Withers at Carnegie Hall or Folsom Prison or Reckoning though. I pulled this in my personal back before we embarked on this. It was okay. I do like the Thin Lizzy better than this, if that tells you anything.
 
Lee Newman said:
I have a lot of live albums in the collection. No idea how many really. (I mean, I like Phish and the Dead; and am a Prince, Neil, Hendrix nut … It’s quite possible I have more Neil live than @Joe Mac has live albums altogether.
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I probably have more Neil live albums that I have combined by every other artist….

I love live music I just often find that recordings don’t always capture the magic in the same way as being there does.
 
Joe Mac said:
I probably have more Neil live albums that I have combined by every other artist….

I love live music I just often find that recordings don’t always capture the magic in the same way as being there does.
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I love live albums. To me live albums are a way to hear a different interpretation of the music. I never really think of it as a way to replace a concert.
 
dbarila said:
I love live albums. To me live albums are a way to hear a different interpretation of the music. I never really think of it as a way to replace a concert.
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I find that live anything is experiential. Concerts are as much about the atmosphere, the crowd, the personality of the band as they are the perfection of the performance.

Live recordings leave me cold because you have the compromises of playing live without all of that. Having to listen to crowd noise that I’m not in between the tracks exacerbates that for me.

There are definite exceptions, Neil is one because of who he is, but that’s my general feeling.
 
As someone who came into music through proggy bands that would regularly improvise and get loose and weird in their live shows, taking familiar songs to new places each night, and then whose favourite bands became My Morning Jacket, Wilco, the Dead, Iron & Wine, Neil, etc., live recordings rule. Of course they're not a substitute for being there—but you can't always be there!
 
BjorgenFjorgen said:
As someone who came into music through proggy bands that would regularly improvise and get loose and weird in their live shows, taking familiar songs to new places each night, and then whose favourite bands became My Morning Jacket, Wilco, the Dead, Iron & Wine, Neil, etc., live recordings rule. Of course they're not a substitute for being there—but you can't always be there!
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That’s fair enough. That’s pretty much the opposite of my entry into music! A lot of my late teen obsessions were about smashing prog lol.
 
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