advertisement


‘Cult’ artists that are good & the opposite

Tony L said:
I’d start with Live Dead myself. If you like that try Aoxomoxoa for some pretty bizarre studio trip-out stuff and American Beauty for some great accessible country-rock/Americana stuff. I’m not knowledgeable enough to sift through the endless live stuff, which is where the real Dead fans live. There must be years of it!
Click to expand...
Thanks, review of Live Dead in current Mojo, may look into that.
 
Aethelist said:
Y'know? I've never hear anything by The Enid? Thanks. Of course I've heard of them "kind of" (being a music paper reading person since 1970 but I think I was maybe into different things at the time)

Tomorrow I'm going to dig them out on Spotify, if they're on there, and find out.

They're not free form improv jazz though are they?
Click to expand...
No at all - 70's output sounds very like romantic classical music and steals from it from time to time. They added vocals in the 80s and have drifted between the forms ever since. Their first album, In the Region of the Summer Stars is probably their best loved.
 
Dark Star on Live Dead is as good as they get IMHO, if you don’t like that chances are they ain’t for you (unless you prefer the country-rock/Americana stuff, in which case start with American Beauty rather than Live Dead).
 
A really good example of underrated would be Vini Reilly who has a massive (and variable) back catalogue as The Durutti Column. I cannot for the life of me fathom the appeal of the Manic Street Preachers
 
Tony L said:
So many of the most creative people are as they grasp their ego isn’t the point of their being there. It takes a particular type of musician to see the big picture and focus on the goal, and most of my favourite creators are firmly in this category. Miles, like Bowie, Eno etc, realised getting hold of the very best and most interesting people and giving them the space to create was the way to push things forward. I love how minimal Miles can be, I think it’s about 5 minutes into Tribute To Jack Johnson before he even plays his first note! That is real confidence and the exact opposite of the typical ‘widdly widdly widdly’ cock-rock guitarist or whatever. To quote Eno (I think) “one spends the first year or two learning how to play, and the rest of one’s life learning what not to play”.
Click to expand...

I wonder if Miles would have had such an interesting career if he had mad virtuoso chops on his horn? Did his technical limitations contribute to the direction of his creativity?
 
Yank said:
I wonder if Miles would have had such an interesting career if he had mad virtuoso chops on his horn? Did his technical limitations contribute to the direction of his creativity?
Click to expand...

I’ve no idea. I love his playing, he’s one of those players you can easily identify from just a note or two. It’s amazing how rare that is with any instrumentalist. It may well be the thing that separates the real greats from the also-rans. I don’t think its ‘virtuosity’ either, it’s creating a unique sound. Louis Armstrong had it, Coltrane had it, and so did Davis.
 
SteveT said:
Nick Drake...light blue touch paper and retire to a safe distance. His voice does nothing for me at all. Bit precious, fey almost. Sorry.
Click to expand...

Agreed - "fey" is right on the money. I have the box set and regularly dip in to it. He was certainly a wonderful songwriter and guitarist, but I just can't get through a whole album without thinking, "Come on mate, why don't you try going out and getting some fresh air?" Given the tragedy of his suicide, I know this this displays a terrible insensitivity and lack of empathy, but I've always had enough after a few tracks.
 
matt j said:
I'm putting on the fire proof jacket, over the top of a chain mail vest which is underneath a suit of armour - over rated, Miles Davis. I respect the talent and mastering of the instrument, but it's all just twaddle.
Click to expand...

How dare you! Reported.

In all seriousness, as far as 'jazz' goes, I struggled to connect with anything more avant-garde than 40's swing for long time, despite 'knowing' I should like it. It was like listening to a conversation in a language you don't understand - it just sounded like unstructured nonsense. Mingus was my eventual way in - he was my Rosetta stone, as it were. Then the floodgates opened.
 
Tony L said:
I’ve no idea. I love his playing, he’s one of those players you can easily identify from just a note or two. It’s amazing how rare that is with any instrumentalist. It may well be the thing that separates the real greats from the also-rans. I don’t think its ‘virtuosity’ either, it’s creating a unique sound. Louis Armstrong had it, Coltrane had it, and so did Davis.
Click to expand...
Armstrong had virtuosity as well. Coltrane definitely had his own sound, sometimes over did things but he was the equal of anyone really. A lot of Jazz artists just didn’t live long enough to have a multi phase career.

There are probably more players with a unique sound than you think but some were from earlier eras. Most could tell Young, Hawkins & Coltrane apart. Johnny Hodges sounded like no one else but is often see as just a member of the Ellington Orchestra.

I could go on, Bechet etc.
 
I certainly wasn’t implying those were the only three! There are lots who own their instruments in a similar way and are easy to spot, e.g. to add to your list Thelonious Monk, Sonny Rollins, Dexter Gordon, Paul Desmond, Jim Hall, Bill Evans, Jimmy Smith etc.
 
Sean K said:
...I just can't get through a whole album without thinking, "Come on mate, why don't you try going out and getting some fresh air?"
Click to expand...
He did. A friend of mine who lived in Tanworth all his life told me he would see him wandering rather aimlessly round the village on most days.
 
Woodface said:
I’ve always found their discography too large to know where to jump onto.
Click to expand...

I'd suggest 'Blues for Allah', and the associated live album, 'One from the Vault', as ideal for dipping a toe into the dead. Pretty much where the gently acidulated sound that saw out the rest of their days was forged, with the perfect balance of accessible material and crystalline wig outs. The psychedelic band of the 66-68 and the acoustic country band of the early 70's are close relations but very different and atypical of the sound they are best known for.
 
JensenHealey said:
Miles Davis

I keep trying, I really do - thinking there must be something I am missing. So far it is still missing.

Sorry.

Maybe its all a bit Emperors Clothes or Mornington Crescent?

But plenty of Jazz I do like. Although I am no expert at all.
Click to expand...

On the other hand i still can't listen to L'Ascenseur pour L'Echafaud without hairs standing on end; there's a couple of Harry James recordings with the same effect.
 
You can listen to just about every Dead show ever, and download many of them, on the Internet Archive https://archive.org/details/Grateful Dead and other sites too.
Many Deadheads think Cornell 5/8/77 is the greatest show ever. It is very accessible, high energy jamming from the start. Official 3cd release 2017 is easy to get. The other recognised greatest show ever is Veneta 8/27/72 released as Sunshine Daydream.
Edit - on the Archive look for shows uploaded by Charlie Miller, they are always high quality.
 
SteveT said:
Nick Drake...light blue touch paper and retire to a safe distance. His voice does nothing for me at all. Bit precious, fey almost. Sorry.
Click to expand...

Blimey.
Well I don't get the cult of Bowie either, tho I like some of his work.

I suppose cults are cults because they only appeal to a few, so it goes without saying that 'most people' won't like them.

I'm a String Band fan myself, but even I recognize how hard to like it is.
 
I like Bowie's so-called Berlin trilogy and the two albums that preceded it, but between 80 and his death, it was a very patchy affair.
 
Most of the people I work with are cult(s).

Seriously though, they sell a decent amount of records and often play packed venues, mostly in Europe. Only Steven Wilson of our parish has raised his head well above the cult parapet.

Stephen
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


advertisement


Back
Top