Best album ever. Aja or Gaucho?
Discussion
TheChampers said:
I think it’s apples and oranges to be honest. I’m 54 next month and SD were part of my growing up but (like Led Zep and others) I never really “connected” whilst acknowledging how technically (to my untrained) ears they were (same for King Crimson).
Talk Talk however, for me, drilled into the core of how I “felt” music; as they progressed, and deconstructed song form, everything seemed to become more complex, but more simple all at the same time, because they left “spaces” in there even more than say, the Cocteau Twins or Harold Budd.
I know you are a professional musician and composer, and I can only speak from what my ears tell me but:-
Desire
https://youtu.be/gPuxrLAbONk
And Mark’s voice; what an instrument in itself. O/T sorry but you did ask
Fair comment.Talk Talk however, for me, drilled into the core of how I “felt” music; as they progressed, and deconstructed song form, everything seemed to become more complex, but more simple all at the same time, because they left “spaces” in there even more than say, the Cocteau Twins or Harold Budd.
I know you are a professional musician and composer, and I can only speak from what my ears tell me but:-
Desire
https://youtu.be/gPuxrLAbONk
And Mark’s voice; what an instrument in itself. O/T sorry but you did ask
T-195 said:
No need for an education on how great Talk Talk were, Grandad.
Still have Spirit of Eden on vinyl.
Saw them at Manchester Apollo in 86. I was 19, they blew me away. Previous gigs were U2 in Liverpool, Simple Minds, The Cult amongst others. Mark Hollis was a genius and his voice more 'real' live. That gig is up there in my top 5. Unkle at Somerset House being number 1.Still have Spirit of Eden on vinyl.
Steely Dan are brilliant BTW. Not wanting to divert the thread. Aja for me.
For me, Steely Dan fall into the same 'supermarket music' category as Supertramp and many others.
I've no idea if they were musically gifted or not (Actually, I quite liked Steely Dan, Supertramp I didn't, but that was really down to the latter's singer's horrible voice), but they were in that period where elitism and showing off how clever you were with your instruments appealed to some, but alienated many, me included (I've never been able to comprehend the adoration for Pink Floyd either).
Afraid I haven't given either Aja or Gaucho or anything else by them house room, but I can listen to London Calling all day long
Like 'best watch', 'best car', 'best sandwich', selections, there is no right answer, just personal taste.
Luckily, I don't need to rent anywhere!
M
I've no idea if they were musically gifted or not (Actually, I quite liked Steely Dan, Supertramp I didn't, but that was really down to the latter's singer's horrible voice), but they were in that period where elitism and showing off how clever you were with your instruments appealed to some, but alienated many, me included (I've never been able to comprehend the adoration for Pink Floyd either).
Afraid I haven't given either Aja or Gaucho or anything else by them house room, but I can listen to London Calling all day long
Like 'best watch', 'best car', 'best sandwich', selections, there is no right answer, just personal taste.
Luckily, I don't need to rent anywhere!
M
marcosgt said:
For me, Steely Dan fall into the same 'supermarket music' category as Supertramp and many others.
I've no idea if they were musically gifted or not (Actually, I quite liked Steely Dan, Supertramp I didn't, but that was really down to the latter's singer's horrible voice), but they were in that period where elitism and showing off how clever you were with your instruments appealed to some, but alienated many, me included (I've never been able to comprehend the adoration for Pink Floyd either).
Afraid I haven't given either Aja or Gaucho or anything else by them house room, but I can listen to London Calling all day long
Like 'best watch', 'best car', 'best sandwich', selections, there is no right answer, just personal taste.
Luckily, I don't need to rent anywhere!
M
I've no idea if they were musically gifted or not (Actually, I quite liked Steely Dan, Supertramp I didn't, but that was really down to the latter's singer's horrible voice), but they were in that period where elitism and showing off how clever you were with your instruments appealed to some, but alienated many, me included (I've never been able to comprehend the adoration for Pink Floyd either).
Afraid I haven't given either Aja or Gaucho or anything else by them house room, but I can listen to London Calling all day long
Like 'best watch', 'best car', 'best sandwich', selections, there is no right answer, just personal taste.
Luckily, I don't need to rent anywhere!
M
marcosgt said:
For me, Steely Dan fall into the same 'supermarket music' category as Supertramp and many others.
I've no idea if they were musically gifted or not (Actually, I quite liked Steely Dan, Supertramp I didn't, but that was really down to the latter's singer's horrible voice), but they were in that period where elitism and showing off how clever you were with your instruments appealed to some, but alienated many, me included (I've never been able to comprehend the adoration for Pink Floyd either).
Afraid I haven't given either Aja or Gaucho or anything else by them house room, but I can listen to London Calling all day long
Like 'best watch', 'best car', 'best sandwich', selections, there is no right answer, just personal taste.
Luckily, I don't need to rent anywhere!
M
I can understand why you thought Steely Dan were producing 'Supermarket Music'. What you may have missed is that the best musicians in the world were queueing up to play with Steely Dan. And I do mean the BEST musicians in the world.I've no idea if they were musically gifted or not (Actually, I quite liked Steely Dan, Supertramp I didn't, but that was really down to the latter's singer's horrible voice), but they were in that period where elitism and showing off how clever you were with your instruments appealed to some, but alienated many, me included (I've never been able to comprehend the adoration for Pink Floyd either).
Afraid I haven't given either Aja or Gaucho or anything else by them house room, but I can listen to London Calling all day long
Like 'best watch', 'best car', 'best sandwich', selections, there is no right answer, just personal taste.
Luckily, I don't need to rent anywhere!
M
Not Supertramp (who were a pop band).
As for your comment that they were 'showing off how clever they were' - I love watching brilliant tennis players, directors, footballers, actors, and yes, musicians.... demonstrating astonishing skill and dexterity. Most of all - musicality and harmony.
Which is why I love Steely Dan.
HTH
GetCarter said:
marcosgt said:
For me, Steely Dan fall into the same 'supermarket music' category as Supertramp and many others.
I've no idea if they were musically gifted or not (Actually, I quite liked Steely Dan, Supertramp I didn't, but that was really down to the latter's singer's horrible voice), but they were in that period where elitism and showing off how clever you were with your instruments appealed to some, but alienated many, me included (I've never been able to comprehend the adoration for Pink Floyd either).
Afraid I haven't given either Aja or Gaucho or anything else by them house room, but I can listen to London Calling all day long
Like 'best watch', 'best car', 'best sandwich', selections, there is no right answer, just personal taste.
Luckily, I don't need to rent anywhere!
M
I can understand why you thought Steely Dan were producing 'Supermarket Music'. What you may have missed is that the best musicians in the world were queueing up to play with Steely Dan. And I do mean the BEST musicians in the world.I've no idea if they were musically gifted or not (Actually, I quite liked Steely Dan, Supertramp I didn't, but that was really down to the latter's singer's horrible voice), but they were in that period where elitism and showing off how clever you were with your instruments appealed to some, but alienated many, me included (I've never been able to comprehend the adoration for Pink Floyd either).
Afraid I haven't given either Aja or Gaucho or anything else by them house room, but I can listen to London Calling all day long
Like 'best watch', 'best car', 'best sandwich', selections, there is no right answer, just personal taste.
Luckily, I don't need to rent anywhere!
M
Not Supertramp (who were a pop band).
As for your comment that they were 'showing off how clever they were' - I love watching brilliant tennis players, directors, footballers, actors, and yes, musicians.... demonstrating astonishing skill and dexterity. Most of all - musicality and harmony.
Which is why I love Steely Dan.
HTH
T-195 said:
Ricky Don't Lose That Number was their only foray into Supemarket Music.
The original Robber Baron's....https://youtu.be/CWeXOm49kE0
I didn't expect my reply to be popular (Thank you, actually, on the whole, for your reasonable responses).
I've no doubt that they are/were accomplished musicians, I really wanted to point out that they probably fell into an era where that suddenly became unimportant, even disliked or even dismissed for its very competence.
Of course there's a place for brilliant musicianship, but that's only part of what makes an album or performer 'great'.
No offence intended, but I can see where the 'supermarket music' opinion comes from, although mostly ftom Ricky...
M
I've no doubt that they are/were accomplished musicians, I really wanted to point out that they probably fell into an era where that suddenly became unimportant, even disliked or even dismissed for its very competence.
Of course there's a place for brilliant musicianship, but that's only part of what makes an album or performer 'great'.
No offence intended, but I can see where the 'supermarket music' opinion comes from, although mostly ftom Ricky...
M
marcosgt said:
Like 'best watch', 'best car', 'best sandwich', selections, there is no right answer, just personal taste
Very much this, and certainly applicable to music as it is such a broad church.As an example, I dislike Country & Western music but that does not temper my admiration for Albert Lee's guitar work. Similarly, Kasey Musgrave is a C&W artist but her tune "Slow Burn" is bloody delicious in term of chord choices.
Here's another : Lady Gaga. A couple of years ago, I was in the local supermarket, and over the speakers I noted that it was playing an acoustic version of "Paparazzi" and it really very good indeed. As it turns out, it's a well crafted tune; not Steely Dan levels of musicality but pretty good nonetheless. These days, I play the verse as recorded (Bm / G / Em) but the chorus can be "spiced up" using maj7 / sus2 chords.
Anyway. Back to SD..............Larry Carlton
cherryowen said:
Anyway. Back to SD..............Larry Carlton
When I saw an advert last year 'Giants Of Rock' at Butlins in Minehead with Larry Carlton on the bill I thought I was still suffering from one of Owsley Stanley's recipes but it was true, he played at Butlins in Minehead.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hd5hntQTaTE
Check out the players on Aja
Donald Fagen
Walter Becker
Victor Feldman
Joe Sample
Paul Griffin
Michael Omartian
Don Grolnick
Larry Carlton
Lee Ritenour
Dean Parks
Steve Khan
Denny Dias
Paul Humphrey
Rick Marotta
Ed Greene
Steve Gadd
Bernard Purdie
Jay Graydon
Chuck Rainey
Jim Keltner
Gary Coleman
Tom Scott
Wayne Shorter
Pete Christlieb
Jim Horn
Bill Perkins
Plas Johnson
Jackie Kelso
Chuck Findley
Lou McCreary
Dick Hyde
Michael McDonald
Timothy B. Schmit
Clydie King
Sherlie Matthews
Venetta Fields
Rebecca Louis
Donald Fagen
Walter Becker
Victor Feldman
Joe Sample
Paul Griffin
Michael Omartian
Don Grolnick
Larry Carlton
Lee Ritenour
Dean Parks
Steve Khan
Denny Dias
Paul Humphrey
Rick Marotta
Ed Greene
Steve Gadd
Bernard Purdie
Jay Graydon
Chuck Rainey
Jim Keltner
Gary Coleman
Tom Scott
Wayne Shorter
Pete Christlieb
Jim Horn
Bill Perkins
Plas Johnson
Jackie Kelso
Chuck Findley
Lou McCreary
Dick Hyde
Michael McDonald
Timothy B. Schmit
Clydie King
Sherlie Matthews
Venetta Fields
Rebecca Louis
Raygun said:
When I saw an advert last year 'Giants Of Rock' at Butlins in Minehead with Larry Carlton on the bill I thought I was still suffering from one of Owsley Stanley's recipes but it was true, he played at Butlins in Minehead.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hd5hntQTaTE
That's pretty amazing/hilarious!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hd5hntQTaTE
NDA said:
Raygun said:
When I saw an advert last year 'Giants Of Rock' at Butlins in Minehead with Larry Carlton on the bill I thought I was still suffering from one of Owsley Stanley's recipes but it was true, he played at Butlins in Minehead.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hd5hntQTaTE
That's pretty amazing/hilarious!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hd5hntQTaTE
Edited by Simes205 on Monday 19th August 20:28
Gassing Station | Music | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff