I like the Speedwagon, but I'm with you on Air Supply. My wife keeps threatening to pick up one of their albums on vinyl.
Grounds for divorce. :)
I had a prenup written out solely for the purpose of forbidding the playing of REO Speedwagon and Air Supply in our home. You gotta think ahead on these things.
Pretty decent. It hurt a little to hear just how much his voice has aged (thinking of how Warren Zevon and Johnny Cash each sounded on their final albums).
Pretty decent. It hurt a little to hear just how much his voice has aged (thinking of how Warren Zevon and Johnny Cash each sounded on their final albums).
Yeah, there is a bit of a drop off with Cohen. With Cash, I think it actually added a certain rawness to songs like “Hurt,” “You Are My Sunshine,” and a few others that actually enhanced the listening experience for me.
Pretty decent. It hurt a little to hear just how much his voice has aged (thinking of how Warren Zevon and Johnny Cash each sounded on their final albums).
Yeah, there is a bit of a drop off with Cohen. With Cash, I think it actually added a certain rawness to songs like “Hurt,” “You Are My Sunshine,” and a few others that actually enhanced the listening experience for me.
And Rusty Cage, basically American 4- Unearthed. Two Secret gems on Unearthed: Wichita Lineman and Do Lord
Pretty decent. It hurt a little to hear just how much his voice has aged (thinking of how Warren Zevon and Johnny Cash each sounded on their final albums).
Yeah, there is a bit of a drop off with Cohen. With Cash, I think it actually added a certain rawness to songs like “Hurt,” “You Are My Sunshine,” and a few others that actually enhanced the listening experience for me.
I'm not suggesting that it diminishes the quality of the work. Rather that it's bittersweet in that it draws some attention to his age and potentially to his health. That's sort of what I was pointing out, there are moments with a sort of cracking, breathless quality that remind me of points in Zevon's Inherit the Wind where he seems to be clearly lacking breath.
Going completely easy listening for a moment, it's rather like listening to Dan Fogelberg's Souvenirs and then listening to him in concert in the 10-15 years prior to his death. His voice had matured significantly - I don't think that he could hit the same high notes, but there was a texture to the sound that had developed through his career.
Ultimately, I guess I'm saying that while I appreciate the quality of the music, I don't like to be reminded of the mortality of the artist.
I'm not suggesting that it diminishes the quality of the work. Rather that it's bittersweet in that it draws some attention to his age and potentially to his health. That's sort of what I was pointing out, there are moments with a sort of cracking, breathless quality that remind me of points in Zevon's Inherit the Wind where he seems to be clearly lacking breath.
Going completely easy listening for a moment, it's rather like listening to Dan Fogelberg's Souvenirs and then listening to him in concert in the 10-15 years prior to his death. His voice had matured significantly - I don't think that he could hit the same high notes, but there was a texture to the sound that had developed through his career.
Ultimately, I guess I'm saying that while I appreciate the quality of the music, I don't like to be reminded of the mortality of the artist.
I like Cohen a lot, including his recent work. Same with Zevon, I think his last few albums are really something. For me there's no way to divorce the mortality of an artist from the work- consider this year for example, Iggy Pop's Post Pop Depression and of course, David Bowie's Blackstar. (Full disclosure- both are on my short list of favorite artists ever.)
With Blackstar I listened to it nonstop all weekend after it was released, trying to unpack everything going on in it and feeling like it was going to be a final statement in his career. Then of course Monday morning the world got the news that he had passed away. The experience listening to that record is forever different for me, and definitely magnified. Same too with PPD, which heavily and intentionally referenced Iggy's mortality and his Berlin-era records in the wake of Bowie's passing. For me- it adds a weight to the album, and a sense of purpose that helps make it a great piece of work IMO. Same deal with Warren Zevon's last records and I suspect I'll feel similarly when I listen to the new Leonard Cohen.
For me there's no way to divorce the mortality of an artist from the work- consider this year for example, Iggy Pop's Post Pop Depression and of course, David Bowie's Blackstar. ... For me- it adds a weight to the album, and a sense of purpose that helps make it a great piece of work IMO. Same deal with Warren Zevon's last records and I suspect I'll feel similarly when I listen to the new Leonard Cohen.
That’s pretty much the way I feel about it too, but I can relate to @hauberk’s “bittersweet” feelings as well.
I'm not suggesting that it diminishes the quality of the work. Rather that it's bittersweet in that it draws some attention to his age and potentially to his health. That's sort of what I was pointing out, there are moments with a sort of cracking, breathless quality that remind me of points in Zevon's Inherit the Wind where he seems to be clearly lacking breath.
Going completely easy listening for a moment, it's rather like listening to Dan Fogelberg's Souvenirs and then listening to him in concert in the 10-15 years prior to his death. His voice had matured significantly - I don't think that he could hit the same high notes, but there was a texture to the sound that had developed through his career.
Ultimately, I guess I'm saying that while I appreciate the quality of the music, I don't like to be reminded of the mortality of the artist.
I like Cohen a lot, including his recent work. Same with Zevon, I think his last few albums are really something. For me there's no way to divorce the mortality of an artist from the work- consider this year for example, Iggy Pop's Post Pop Depression and of course, David Bowie's Blackstar. (Full disclosure- both are on my short list of favorite artists ever.)
With Blackstar I listened to it nonstop all weekend after it was released, trying to unpack everything going on in it and feeling like it was going to be a final statement in his career. Then of course Monday morning the world got the news that he had passed away. The experience listening to that record is forever different for me, and definitely magnified. Same too with PPD, which heavily and intentionally referenced Iggy's mortality and his Berlin-era records in the wake of Bowie's passing. For me- it adds a weight to the album, and a sense of purpose that helps make it a great piece of work IMO. Same deal with Warren Zevon's last records and I suspect I'll feel similarly when I listen to the new Leonard Cohen.
I concur with the association between final works and that sense of mortality. I think that's inescapable after the artist has passed. My point of contention is in hearing it while the artist is still alive, but clearly deteriorating. Zevon's appearance on Letterman to sing Mutineer, for instance.
I will confess that I haven't gotten to listen to all of Blackstar yet, but what I've heard didn't have the same mortal quality to the vocals. The lyrics, certainly, but not in the quality of Bowie's voice.
How about Ralph Stanley’s “O Death” as he recorded back in the early ’70s versus the version he recorded for the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack? His voice was still pretty powerful with the later recording, but you could still hear the age in his voice, and I think it made the song that much better for it.
How about Ralph Stanley’s “O Death” as he recorded back in the early ’70s versus the version he recorded for the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack? His voice was still pretty powerful with the later recording, but you could still hear the age in his voice, and I think it made the song that much better for it.
I'll have to look it up. Sound doesn't readily come to mind.
How about Ralph Stanley’s “O Death” as he recorded back in the early ’70s versus the version he recorded for the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack? His voice was still pretty powerful with the later recording, but you could still hear the age in his voice, and I think it made the song that much better for it.
When Stanley passed away we were discussing this. Ralph Stanley was put on this Earth to sing that song. He sounds old and creaky signing, but then he keeps on doing his thing for another 15 years.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJuXt6oX6OE Then you have other guys like Charlie Parr who have always sounded like they had one foot in the grave. Often, I think the music style lends itself to this.
When Stanley passed away we were discussing this. Ralph Stanley was put on this Earth to sing that song. He sounds old and creaky signing, but then he keeps on doing his thing for another 15 years.
Yeah. At the show where I met him they had a second banjo player on stage, and Stanley would sit out on about a third of the songs. His hands betrayed him, but his voice never really left.
Often, I think the music style lends itself to this.
There’s definitely something to that. I think it comes from passing down the songs from generation to generation, the old teaching the young. Hearing the songs come from older performers is kind of the baseline, I think.
The new Pixies album comes out in about a week, but NPR has the full album up for your listening pleasure. I'm about halfway in, and it’s much better than the last album. Not one of their best, but worthy of having the Pixies’ name on it.
*sigh* 2017 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominee list is out and once again, Warren Zevon is absent. Nominees this year:
Pearl Jam Tupac Janet Jackson Joan Baez Depeche Mode Chaka Khan ELO Jane's Addiction J Geils Band Journey the Cars Yes the Zombies the Bad Brains Steppenwolf MC5 Kraftwerk Joe Tex Chic
Joan Baez is an odd choice. And still no Jethro Tull?
Joan Baez doesn't really surprise me. She's one of the archetypes of American Folk Rock / Protest music. From a subgenre perspective, she seems like a really good representative.
As far as Tull goes, the committee is probably still stunned at Tull's 89 Grammy win for Heavy Metal and is consequently afraid of handling them in any manner.
Glad to see Journey on there. I know we're all sick to death of "Don't Stop Believin" but they had other tunes that were great and Neal Schon is criminally underappreciated as a guitarist (he had to hold his own with Carlos Santana, for crying out loud!).
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Grounds for divorce. :)
Learned that this morning.
basically American 4- Unearthed. Two Secret gems on Unearthed: Wichita Lineman and Do Lord
Going completely easy listening for a moment, it's rather like listening to Dan Fogelberg's Souvenirs and then listening to him in concert in the 10-15 years prior to his death. His voice had matured significantly - I don't think that he could hit the same high notes, but there was a texture to the sound that had developed through his career.
Ultimately, I guess I'm saying that while I appreciate the quality of the music, I don't like to be reminded of the mortality of the artist.
With Blackstar I listened to it nonstop all weekend after it was released, trying to unpack everything going on in it and feeling like it was going to be a final statement in his career. Then of course Monday morning the world got the news that he had passed away. The experience listening to that record is forever different for me, and definitely magnified. Same too with PPD, which heavily and intentionally referenced Iggy's mortality and his Berlin-era records in the wake of Bowie's passing. For me- it adds a weight to the album, and a sense of purpose that helps make it a great piece of work IMO. Same deal with Warren Zevon's last records and I suspect I'll feel similarly when I listen to the new Leonard Cohen.
I will confess that I haven't gotten to listen to all of Blackstar yet, but what I've heard didn't have the same mortal quality to the vocals. The lyrics, certainly, but not in the quality of Bowie's voice.
Here's Ralph Stanley singing "O Death" on stage.
Then you have other guys like Charlie Parr who have always sounded like they had one foot in the grave. Often, I think the music style lends itself to this.
Pearl Jam
Tupac
Janet Jackson
Joan Baez
Depeche Mode
Chaka Khan
ELO
Jane's Addiction
J Geils Band
Journey
the Cars
Yes
the Zombies
the Bad Brains
Steppenwolf
MC5
Kraftwerk
Joe Tex
Chic
As far as Tull goes, the committee is probably still stunned at Tull's 89 Grammy win for Heavy Metal and is consequently afraid of handling them in any manner.