I'm doing this in A-Z order. (bookshelf cleaning revealed this semi-lost gem, and now I'm going for it.)
http://www.1000recordings.com/the-list/
I'm doing this in A-Z order. (bookshelf cleaning revealed this semi-lost gem, and now I'm going for it.)
http://www.1000recordings.com/the-list/
1. Abba, Gold C- (the number will help me keep track of how many I've reviewed, grade explained below)
Tom Moon doesn't have too many entries in the 'pop' genre, but this is one of them. I've never been a big Abba fan. Even when my best friend expounded on the greatness that is Abba. Meh.
I listened to Gold and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed each song. Well produced pop music. Some great hooks I didn't realize belonged to them. It was worth the listen, and I'll go back on occasion--like I said...some great hooks.
I'll use a grade scale for each recording, A through F. A grade of C is not the normal bad grade, it's like...yes, I concur you might be one of the top 1000 recordings ever. C is a very strong grade when it means top 1000. Grades of B or A indicate high likelihood of top 1000 status, C is me saying 50/50, and F is me saying that Moon is proselytizing a weird fetish pick.
Originally Posted by Sting
2. Khalifa Ould Eide & Dimi Mint Abba, Moorish Music from Mauritania (1990), D
From Moon's commentary:
My thoughts:The traditional music of Mauritania exists between worlds. It encompasses both the devotional aspect of Islamic life in North Africa, and the rhythmic energy and group interplay of sub-Saharan "black" Africa. . .Abba and her husband, Khalifa Ould Eide, were both born into the iggawin, or griot, tradition. In Mauritania, griots are a caste apart, regarded simultaneously as truth-telling folksingers, keepers of the poetry and heritage, and wizards in possession of paranormal powers. . .Like other Islamic singers, Abba doesn't always stay within a given tonality—when she's really riled up, her adlibs veer into wild quarter-tones and semitones that are manifestations of pure spirit. . .
I had to listen to this one three times. It's not my wheelhouse...but it is. I enjoy Dead Can Dance because of the power of Lisa Gerrard's voice. This is the same--the only reason this recording could be considered in the top 1000 is because Dimi Mint Abba is a voice sorceress.
It reminds me a bit of the Robert Johnson paradox. His original recordings the quality is so bad and the instrumentation so sparse--yet you can't deny the raw power--but you might prefer to listen to the Clapton/Cream version of Crossroads.
It's a good album and I enjoyed the time spent listening. Maybe start at 28:30, the next 15 minutes are probably the best of the recording.
Originally Posted by Sting
3. Muhal Richard Abrams Orchestra, Blu Blu Blu (1991, Jazz), C-
It's becoming clearer that my grades will reflect how I like a genre rather than the intrinsic quality of a recording to someone who is genre-neutral. Some people just don't like certain genres, even if you give them the essence of genius from that genre. Is it possible to be genre-neutral?
That is what I am going to do. Really get into the spirit of this thing and suspend presumptions and conventions within my own listening mind. I'm going native here.
So...suggestions? How am I supposed to enjoy jazz?
I found this snippet and I like it because I am a musician and can relate to the idea of improvisation and micro-songs or sketches within a broad framework.
I'll grade it later, I didn't want to forget to address the dichotomy between genre quality and quality within genre.…when I talk to people who find jazz musically intimidating, or unintelligible in its refusal to be as repetitive as popular music, I sometimes tell them to try to hear in the solos little musical structures, any one of which could be a song in itself, but each of which is built, explored, and discarded with breakneck speed. Popular music relies on the ecstasy of trance: repetition of what resonates. Jazz relies more on restless exploration.
edit: graded
Last edited by Hawgdriver; 03-07-2017 at 10:48 PM.
Originally Posted by Sting
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I love the idea of suspending presumptions and conventions to try and really explore it. I am just scratching the surface in learning more about meditation and trying to introduce those concepts more in all facets of my life. Less knee jerk judgments, more neutral observation of the present reality. I am mostly failing thus far.
Brief aside: I saw Yo-Yo Ma live last year and desperately wanted to appreciate it more but I just found myself wanting to go to sleep. I think it's a holdover from my angsty adolescence where I only listened to metal and shunned everything else to signal to everyone how hardcore I was. I want to learn from your experience here - share your tactics.
I've probably listened to Coltrane the most of any jazz musician. There was a 2-month period in my early twenties when all I would listen to was jazz, but since then I haven't put on a recording and enjoyed it from reel to reel more than once or twice. Besides Coltrane, in my own collection are recordings from Crusaders (a favorite of my dad), Stan Getz, Bob James, Hubert Laws, Joe Sample, W. Marsalis, Miles Davis, and Herbie Mann. I've also listened to some Charlie Parker, Oscar Peterson, and Django Reinhardt (jazz?) via youtube.
Outside of Getz and Coltrane, nothing has really grabbed me, but that doesn't mean I don't like it. It's a state between indifference and enjoyment.
I like the Mars Volta a lot, which seems like it should be some form of jazz.
Originally Posted by Sting
Cool idea. I don't have the patience to go through it all. Never heard of the book.
I'm looking through the World Music section though and seeing what good things I can find. Thanks for introducing me to this list
You obviously have listened. For me, jazz is my favorite.
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4. The Abyssinian Baptist Choir, Shakin' the Rafters (1960, Gospel) D+
I am not a gospel listener. But... During my 1-year Korea tour in the service, I ended up becoming very involved with the Osan AB protestant church/service. Joined the choir, played guitar during communion, helped the catholic peeps build a monastery in backwoods Korea. Was the main thing I did outside of the old fly, fight and win.1 I really got off on singing in choir. What do ping pong ball tricks in Tong Du Chon have compared to singing about glory?
Exotic vajayge?
Then perhaps I did Korea wrong.
Tom Moon nails it:
If you are agnostic or similar, resolute on not being moved by religion and its trappings, the act of praising a higher power could easily cause feelings of condescension or superiority to arise from within. Those feelings could ruin listening to otherwise groovy music. This is a microcosm of this listening project. You have to will yourself to be the prime audience to really give the recording a chance. So I say **** it, I'm a 60's black girl with a big ass love for Jesus, and I can't wait until Sunday so I can sing out all this love I have inside.The three mortals who make up this screaming locomotive of a rhythm section jolt the 120 Abyssinian voices out of the Sunday-services routine into near-ecstatic communication they sustain from the beginning of this disc to the end. The songs are mostly Bradford originals, expressions of faith and praise that emulate the works of legendary gospel composer Thomas A. Dorsey (see p. 233). Several of them belong alongside Dorsey's best, including "Said I Wasn't Gonna Tell Nobody," which is resolute from the opening line, and the 6/8 blues "He Is Such an Understanding God." Loaded with crackling call-and-response exchanges and outbreaks of intricately contrapuntal soul-clapping jubilation, these feature hot solo singing from Calvin White and Margaret Simpson, but they're never really solo vehicles. The choir is right there, contributing asides and shouts, blasting past doubt and despair with a contagious energy most often associated with the early days of rock and roll.
Recording quality is a factor here.
Quite good, has its moments. Sound quality is the main reason...would like more power from the rhythm section in the recording.
1. Throwing MO an Oxford bone.
Last edited by Hawgdriver; 03-05-2017 at 10:49 PM.
Originally Posted by Sting
5. AC/DC, Back in Black (1980, Rock) B-
It's great when every single last song on a recording stands on its own, as here. Extremely well-produced, this is the essence of hard arena rock and it listens just as well in 2017 as in 1980.The album's tightly wound radio songs—"Shoot to Thrill," the proud peacock strut "Back in Black," and the explosive "You Shook Me All Night Long"—share a mean streak. The rhythm section gets right near the boiling point and then hangs there, waiting for the schoolboy-uniform–wearing Angus Young to deliver demonically twisted lead guitar that pushes things over the edge. He always comes through: Every last solo here is a thrill ride.
Originally Posted by Sting
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