The nDMBc Album Discussion Thread

[ThememanXX]

Originally Posted by blumathu Right on with that drumming. It starts off right in your face with some fantastic drums. I love the vibe on this album. I don't think I'd go as far as calling it mellow, but I completely understand where you're coming from. The album has a heavy feeling overall to me but it's balanced pretty well throughout with some softer/mellow aspects.

That's a better way to phrase it. It's not mellow, per-se, but it's way more mellow as a whole than I expected at the outset. Really enjoyed it.

[Bluewater34]

Yeah, it’s much less loud and in-your-face than it seems like it would be initially. Instead it’s more about texture and mood. I think some of that is due to Burnett’s production, which allows room for everything to come through instead of creating a My Bloody Valentine-esque wall of sound, which they easily could have done.

[blumathu]

Also, I've now had the drum beat from the opening track stuck in my head for two solid days.

[Bluewater34]

Finally got around to listening to the honeyhoney pick from a couple of weeks ago when my power was out. I definitely enjoyed this more than I expected to. I like Americana, but I also feel like the big rush of post-Avett bands that started about a decade ago contained very few bands worth paying much attention to. So this one is a very pleasant surprise. I love the breadth of different traditions that they seamlessly integrate, from classic Country and Rockabilly to Barrelhouse, to Appalachian Folk. But what makes it all work for me is her voice, which frequently makes me think of a sort of American South version of Adele. I honestly don’t know how these guys have flown under my radar for so long. Thanks for this pick.

[ThememanXX]

Originally Posted by Bluewater34 Finally got around to listening to the honeyhoney pick from a couple of weeks ago when my power was out. I definitely enjoyed this more than I expected to. I like Americana, but I also feel like the big rush of post-Avett bands that started about a decade ago contained very few bands worth paying much attention to. So this one is a very pleasant surprise. I love the breadth of different traditions that they seamlessly integrate, from classic Country and Rockabilly to Barrelhouse, to Appalachian Folk. But what makes it all work for me is her voice, which frequently makes me think of a sort of American South version of Adele. I honestly don’t know how these guys have flown under my radar for so long. Thanks for this pick.

[Garntd]

I was swamped with work the last few weeks, but finally got to listening to the Titus album and the Autolux. The titus album was honestly not for me - I can see why people like it, but for the headspace I'm in right now, it didn't click.

The Autolux I did like a bit more, especially Sugarless.

I'm really appreciative of this thread - it's been really helpful in breaking my cycle of mostly only Dead/DMB/Phish being played.

[celluloid hero]

Just hitting play on Autolux. Who's up this week?

[Bluewater34]

I meant to post the reminder Saturday, but apparently couldn’t remind myself. Blumathu has the next pick.

[blumathu]

This week's pick is the Pretend You're Alive by Lovedrug.

Pretend You're Alive is the 2004 debut album by indie rock band Lovedrug. I will forever believe that this band would have been massive if they had released this a few years prior. The album did so well at the indie label it was on, that Columbia noticed and gave them a record deal. Unfortunately Columbia records fell apart shortly thereafter and they were dropped out of necessity.

I absolutely love this album. It has gorgeous imagery, unique vocals and a great mix of styles. I hope you like it.

[Bluewater34]

That’s one of my wife’s favorite albums of all time. I haven’t listened to it in a very long time. It’ll be nice to revisit it.

[blumathu]

Originally Posted by Bluewater34 That’s one of my wife’s favorite albums of all time. I haven’t listened to it in a very long time. It’ll be nice to revisit it.

Of course you've heard it, haha. I thought for sure this was one you would have not heard.

[Bluewater34]

Originally Posted by blumathu Of course you've heard it, haha. I thought for sure this was one you would have not heard.

Well, I can’t take any credit for having heard it, though. If it weren’t for my wife, I probably wouldn’t have.

[celluloid hero]

Originally Posted by blumathu Of course you've heard it, haha. I thought for sure this was one you would have not heard.

My pick next week is one that's in his wheelhouse, but not anyone else's so it's worth the pick and he will have a *very slightly* different assignment.

[Bluewater34]

Oh, I’m extra curious now.

[celluloid hero]

I travel on Monday for the week, I'll be posting Sunday morning.

[Bluewater34]

Looking forward to it. I’ll do my listen for this week tomorrow.

[Bluewater34]

Spun the Lovedrug record this morning. This is not an album that I should enjoy, but the songwriting, particularly in the music and vocal melodies, has always hit a sweet spot for me. If I were to hear a song on the radio, I’d probably shut it off after about fifteen seconds, but because my wife loves this album so much, I got the opportunity to hear the way they add piano or slide guitar to what would otherwise be pretty standard Alt-Rock. And I probably wouldn’t like his voice either, but his melodies are so good and complement his voice so well that I enjoy it. There are a few songs that I really don’t care for and several times there are lyrics that I think are pretty bad, but overall I’ve always enjoyed this one.

[ThememanXX]

I’ll listen to this past week’s on Monday. Was off all week and had tons to do.

[celluloid hero]

Ray Davies probably should have born fifties years earlier. The seventh of eight children born into a classically British family, he was obsessed empirical Great Britain and the traditions that had been intentionally and naturally passed down through the generations. He often wrote about every day life and people from his Britain, often lamenting about the struggles, the simple pleasures, and the cultural change.

While his brother Dave wrote a handful of songs, Ray was the driving force behind the Kinks' albums and in the mid to late 1960s they released a string of concept albums (and rock operas) that provided a window into what he was feeling about life in Britain. The Kinks are the Village Green Preservation Society is his masterpiece. I could have picked any five of these albums and been confident that I was recommending one of the most underrated rock albums of all-time. The band were banned from touring the USA during this five or six year period of their best work due to antagonizing the US union workers. It's why you know the early singles like You Really Got Me and Dedicated Follower of Fashion, then nothing until Lola and he will tell you it's why they aren't known in the US on the level of the Who or the Rolling Stones. I would think that if you don't know this, you might only recognize Picture Book from an amazing Hewlett-Packard commercial.

A long time ago I loaned this CD to a friend who hadn't even heard of the band even if he knew those iconic hits and he asked me later if it was a greatest hits album. I hope you like it nearly as much. Back then in the UK it was considered double-dipping to release radio singles on albums as well as 45s. It's why many album tracklists for bands like the Beatles and Rolling Stones have different catalogs or tracklists in the different countries.

If you like this and are using Spotify with the Deluxe Boxed Set, I also recommend some of the singles that accompany it like: Days, Mr. Songbird and Misty Water. Most streaming sites have at least bonus tracks, I know at least Spotify has the Boxed Set with Stereo, Mono and a slew of tracks. I personally like the mono mix better for Kinks releases, I feel all the parts are mixed together better than isolated in channels which feels a bit gimmicky on 60s releases to me, like proving that the album is in stereo. But that's your call.

For Bluewater34 and anyone else who knows this well (and has a streaming service with the Boxed Set -- and if you don't, we can probably work something out), the album was briefly released in Sweden and a handful of other countries as a 12-track album with a somewhat different tracklisting, and different takes of two of the songs without Ray knowing about it and he had the company pull it back after a month or so before the UK version was released everywhere. Your assignment is to listen to that version. The order from the Deluxe Boxed Set is below to rearrange your playlist. It's a different experience when you're used to hearing it one way for so long. I'll admit that some really good songs weren't on it, but some good singles heard in a different setting are pretty cool there too.



Stereo Version
01 - The Village Green Preservation Society
25 - Do You Remember Walter? (alt. version)
03 - Picture Book
04 - Johnny Thunder
14 - Monica
16 - Days (single)
-
09 - Village Green
18 - Mr. Songbird (single)
13 - Wicked Annabella
10 - Starstruck
11 - Phenomenal Cat
27 - People Take Pictures of Each Other (alt. version)

[Bluewater34]

Nice. I think I’ll listen to both, since this is one of the greatest albums ever released.