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List #6


Sara

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"Floodland" ~ The Sisters Of Mercy

Floodland sees The Sisters of Mercy becoming the artistic output of one man, lead singer and songwriter Andrew Eldritch with his previous bandmates off in other bands such as The Mission and Ghost Dance. Eldritch claims that bassist Patricia Morrisson, the only other official member of The Sisters of Mercy at the time, did not perform on the album and was hired only for promotional purposes. She is not credited on the album's sleeve, and is present only in pictures.

On the songs "Dominion/Mother Russia" and "This Corrosion", producer Jim Steinman added his over-the-top production values. The driving dance-floor hit "Lucretia (My Reflection)" with its repeating bass-line has become a staple in some nightclubs.

The album does have some quiet moments, as well. "1959" consists of just piano and vocals, a quiet ballad to a fan named Isabelle who wrote Eldritch a fan mail. And "Driven Like The Snow" has an almost ambient quality at times.

While not quite a concept album, Floodland has many recurring themes. The most obvious being the flood itself, a post-apocalyptic reference to tidal floods after nuclear war. It was described by Andrew Eldritch as 'a fine album',

1. "Dominion/Mother Russia" - 7:01

backing vocals: The New York Choral Society

2. "Flood I" - 6:22

3. "Lucretia My Reflection" - 4:57

4. "1959" - 4:09

5. "This Corrosion" - 10:55

backing vocals: The New York Choral Society (choir parts); Holly Sherwood; Curtis King; Brenda King; Tawatha Agee; Gina Taylor; Vaneese Thomas

6. "Flood II" - 6:47

7. "Driven Like The Snow" - 6:27

8. "Never Land (a fragment)" - 2:46

Additional tracks:

9. "Torch" - 3:51 (cassette/CD only)

10. "Colours" - 7:18 (CD only)

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Dr. John's Gumbo (original release: 1972)

Over a forty year career Dr. John has concocted scads of albums in various styles, and with a huge differences in success and quality.

But this one is, by any standard, an undeniable Masterpiece. Some of his very best piano work (? radiatin? the 88s ?) shines in these just-right arrangements of a dozen funky New Orleans R&B numbers. An amazingly accomplished group of simpatico hometown players click with Dr. John?s eccentric vocal styling. You can listen to this album hundreds of times and never get tired of this stuff.

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I second Sheik Yerbouti, this is classic Zappa although probably not his best album. Great music, a fine selection of some of his most controversial lyrics and of course excellent guitar playing by FZ (especially in the closing track 'Yo Mama'). Also, it's a rare (rare for most musicians, certainly not for Zappa) combination of live+studio recordings, mixed during production.

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he who persists wins as we say in greece, i'm going to persist with my choices!

"disintegration"-the cure: very briefly as i've talked about it several times, their best in my opinion, has their most famous (and best) songs and basically if you are going to buy one cure album , this is it.

"animals"-pink floyd: the one that got me hooked, perhaps it will works for others too?

"the sophtware slump"-grandaddy: a concept album with themes of technology and digital loneliness. very beautiful songs, interesting because the lyrics are incredibly sad but the music is quite cheeful

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Nebula - To the Center

Reccomended to fans of: Early 70's hard rock such as Black Sabbath, and early Blue Oyster Cult, Garage Rock, such as Kyuss and Fu Manchu, and early 90's grunge such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney

In my opinion, the 80's killed heavy metal. They made it too poppy, slick, and it all sounded the same. It had lost it's anger. The early seventies I think was the golden age of metal, and the grunge movement tried to help bring it back. This hard rocking band resonates the sounds of 70s hard rock better than any other band around today. From the very first song, you know what this album is going to sound like. They don't try to do anything too fancy, they just make you want to turn the CD up as loud as possible. They also do some psychadelic rock on the songs "Synthetic Dream" and "Fields of Psychosilibin."

The best way to describe this sound would be angry, sludgy, and distorted. They rock harder than any other band around today. They are influential because they are part of the "Stoner Rock" movement which is bringing back 70's metal to teen rockers. This movement feautres bands such as Nebula, Queens of the Stone Age, Monster Magnet, Fu Manchu, and Kyuss. But no matter if you are a stoner or not, as long as you are a fan of real rock, this album is for you. I'm having a tough time writing this review, because there is no amount of words that can express how much they rock.

Buy it now!

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Rocket To Russia

- The Ramones (Nov 1977, Sire)

Rocket To Russia by The Ramones is one of the finest punk records that the short lived revolution ever produced. While the album is more polished and professional than previous Ramones releases, it still retains the true spirit of the punk movement combined with a wickedly dark sense of humour that made The Ramones the godfathers of punk.

Rocket To Russia is the album that SHOULD have made The Ramones a household name. It didn't of course, but things rarely went the way they should have for The Ramones. The album remains commercially the most successful for The Ramones, featuring singles from the 60's inspired 'Sheena Is A Punk Rocker', to the tongue-in-cheek anthem 'Teenage Lobotomy' and the surf rock inspired 'Rockaway Beach' appearing on the album.

Rocket To Russia is also home to a fantastic cover of The Trashmen's 'Surfin' Bird'. The Ramones rockin' rendition of the 60's favourite is absolutley inspired. The song sits perfectly alongside the fan tribute, 'Cretin Hop' ("There?s no stoppin? the cretins from hoppin?/You gotta keep it beatin? for all the happy cretins") and 'We're A Happy Family', a song that highlights The Ramones skill at using a song for social satire.

The Ramones remain one of the most influential bands in history, and Rocket To Russia is the cleanest, leanest and meanest punk record, essential listening for any music fan.

"We didn't sell a lot of records, but somehow we left an impression" - Johnny Ramone.

Rocket To Russia

1. Cretin Hop

2. Rockaway Beach

3. Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

4. Locket Love

5. I Don't Care

6. Sheena Is A Punk Rocker

7. We're A Happy Family

8. Teenage Lobotomy

9. Do You Wanna Dance?

10. I Wanna Be Well

11. I Can't Give You Everything

12. Ramona

13. Surfin' Bird

14. Why Is It Always This Way?

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Might as well double my chances of getting an album in the Music of Choice. Here is my review for...

Funkadelic

One Nation Under a Groove

Released: 1978

Important Tracks:

One Nation Under A Groove

Groovallegience

Who Says A Funk Band Can't Play Rock?!

Cholly (Funk Gettin' Ready to Roll!)

Lunchmeataphobia (Think, It Aint Illegal Yet!)

Maggot Brain

Recommended to fans of: Funk, Soul, Psychadelia, and Rock, especially instances where they are all mixed such as Jimi Hendrix or Sly & The Family Stone

Out of all the bands of the seventies, none have stronger connections to today's music than Funkadelic. Funkadelic, inspired by Hendrix, James Brown, and Sly and the Family Stone, were a mix of Hard Rock, Funk, Psychadelia, Soul and Social Commentary, stuck it to the man, and paved the way for hip hop and later on the 90's alternative funk bands such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Funkadelic was a great mixture of the white and black music in the seventies.

"One Nation" was the peak of Funkadelic's success. It was on this record that Funkadelic made a disco song, the title track, which turned out to be their biggest hit. Funkadelic did so much more than disco though. Funkadelic did a funk rock song in "Who says a funk band can't play rock," the song that defines the band. On the song Promentalsh*tbackwashpsychosis Enema Squad" they were funny, shocking, psychadelic, and angry. "Cholly (Funk Gettin Ready To Roll)" and "Groovealegience" were the album's straight up funk songs. On "Lunchmeataphobia (Think, it aint illegal yet!) ", the band fuses Metal and Pyschadelia. And the last track is a live version of their instrumental, "Maggot Brain". "Maggot Brain" is psychedelic song, with an amazing guitar solo. It rivals and somewhat emulates the guitar solos of Jimi Hendrix and Dave Gilmour. It is a great song to end a great album.

This album is influential because Funkadelic was one of the first funk bands to use electric guitars, and this is the album that brought guitar funk to the mainstream. I give it 10/10 points. And for what it's worth, I'd recommend this over my other post in this thread (Nebula)

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Here's a re-entry from me. Bazooka, I love Tower of Power. Katie, the Ramones rock my world. Batman, I just like you.

London Calling

The Clash

1979

Everyone seems to have a different opinion as to what defines ?punk? but almost everyone points to the Clash when discussing it. London Calling was the seminal double album that put them on the map. They used the lyrics to describe their social and political views and they used the music to experiment in different genres. The title track starts out with ?London calling to the faraway towns/ Now that war is declared-and battle come down/ London calling to the underworld/ Come out of the cupboard, all you boys and girls?? and you have an idea of the punk disillusionment to come. The genius of the Clash is the way they combine the hard hitting lyrics of ?The Guns of Brixton? with the almost laid back feel of the reggae beats. Even a seemingly silly little tune like ?Lost in the Supermarket? has such lyrics like ?I wasn't born so much as I fell out/ Nobody seemed to notice me/ We had a hedge back home in the suburbs/ Over which I never could see? And then to close the album, completely out of left field, you have a top 40 pop hit like ?Train in Vain?.

London Calling is a spectacular album full of thought provoking lyrics, musical diversity, and even a few numbers to shake your rump to while considering the downfall of civilization. Not bad, huh?

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Here's a re-entry from me. Bazooka, I love Tower of Power. Katie, the Ramones rock my world. Batman, I just like you.

Well thanks! I was looking through my dad's album collection, and was surprised to find Londing Calling. I was surprised because he also had Jim Croce, Michael Jackson, and endless amounts of Chicago.

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Human Drama - The World Inside (1992)

Easily one of the greatest bands performing during the last decade, Human Drama is a must to listen to. With melodic music and meaningful lyrics, Human Drama will quickly charm anyone's musical senses. The World Inside is undoubtedly Human Drama's finest album. Human Drama's musical influences stem from artists such as Joy Division, Lou Reed, Tom Waits, David Bowie, and Leonard Cohen, among others.

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Here are two from the same artist:

Scarecrow - John Cougar Mellencamp (1985)

This is my favorite JCM albums. It not only spawned 5 hit singles (Rain on the Scarecrow, Small Town, Lonely Ol' Night, Rumbleseat and R.O.C.K. in the USA) but it shows JCM's maturity into a true storyteller and artist. He combines songs that have a social message with stories of small town people's lives. It has a good beat and you can dance to it (Old American bandstand joke for those of us above 30).

The Lonesome Jubilee - John Cougar Mellencamp (1987)

A sort of "theme" album for JCM. There are a smattering of social conscience songs (Down and Out in Paradise, Empty Hands,Hard Times for an Honest Man), but most of the album deals with not letting life pass you by (Paper in Fire, The Real Life), along with some longing for the "good old days" (Cherry Bomb). Instruments not generally used in rock albums such as violins, a hammer dulcimer, mandolins and accordions give this album a "down home" sound without losing any rock edge.

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Very good choices, Jenny. I own 11 Mellencamp cds. I like his stuff a lot.

You left out "Check It Out" from the Lonesome Jubilee, though. That's probably my favorite cut from that cd.

Ooops. I can't believe I forgot to mention it. I like that song, too, but "Cherry Bomb" is my favorite

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David Gray - White ladder

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I love his lyrics and I love his voice. This man spends alot of time in the small numbers of the charts for a very good reason - he rocks.

Tracklisting:

Please Forgive Me

Babylon

My Oh My

We're Not Right

Nightblindness

Silver Lining

White Ladder

This Years Love

Sail Away

Say Hello Wave Goodbye

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com's Best of 2000

David Gray's glorious fourth record explodes in a wellspring of spacious, electronica-tinged folk-pop. He uses his bright growl of a voice to memorable effect, chewing on vowel sounds while spinning odes to lost love, the resiliency of young hearts, and the pain of experience. Gray's work finds the universality at the heart of folk music and tweaks it just enough to make it relevant for alternative audiences. --Matthew Cooke

Please forgive me

"Please forgive me

If I act alittle strange

For I know not what I do.

Feels like lightning running through my veins

Everytime I look at you

Everytime I look at you

Help me out here

All my words are falling short

And there?s so much I want to say

Want to tell you just how good it feels

When you look at me that way

When you look at me that way

Throw a stone and watch the ripples flow

Moving out across the bay

Like a stone I fall into your eyes

Deep into some mystery

Deep into that mystery

I got half a mind to scream out loud

I got half a mind to die

So I won?t ever have to lose you girl

Won?t ever have to say goodbye

I won?t ever have to lie

Won?t ever have to say goodbye

Yeah na na na na

Yeah na na na na

Please forgive me

If I act alittle strange

For I know not what I do

It?s like my head is filled with lightning girl

Everytime I look at you

Everytime I look at you

Everytime I look at you

Everytime I look at you"

David Gray homepage.

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Here's the latest... hope you find something new and interesting!

Goodbye to Romance - Alex Skolnick This is an album of Classic Rock songs in a Jazz arrangement. Alex is a heavy hitter in the world of Rock guitar, and set out to prove that Heavy Metal/Hard Rock has produced excellent songs. We get CDs from time to time, and our ears liked this one. It's a little different, but you might really enjoy it.

Animals - Pink Floyd It's about time for some Pink Floyd!

One Nation Under a Groove - FunkadelicThis one's for Carl, he's a big George Clinton fan. :)

London Calling - The Clash

The World Inside - Human Drama

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