Slartibartfast's Magical Music Random Load Blog

Waiting For the Sun is a great album.  The songs are remarkably varied.    Agreed, the first Doors is sort of hard to top.  The Cars had the same problem, their first being so good that the others kind of unfortunately get lost in the shuffle.

Let's see...
I have/enjoy the second album, always a good choice to go with the Doors.  After that, I have to skip all the way down to Shakti for albums in my collection, then skip again down to the Zappas.  Weasels is my favorite of the albums I have here, and I agree that Joe's Garage goes on a bit long.  I've been meaning to check out Bruford's solo stuff and more JOni Mitchell (I have 3 of her albums already, Hejira, Mingus and Don Juan's Reckless Daughter). 

There's my 1-2 cents.

I already had the bonus stuff as part of a CD box set.  Tull went out of their way in their earlier days to make interesting album packages and the stand up in Stand Up was really cool.

Next batch:
Amos, Tori    Boys for Pele - was a bit of a different direction for Tori what with the harpsichord and all that.  Same voice, same quirky lyrics.

Amos, Tori    God (Alternate Mixes) - this was the song that would have kept me from ever checking out Tori due to it being played too much on the radio.  I did warm up to the artist and this song though.  Remixes rarely live up to the original.  Nothing outstanding on this one but nice radical re-makings all the same.

Bears, The    Car Caught Fire - Belew's Bears had that '80's kind of sound in the '80's without being crap.  Adrian moved on for a while but they came back in 2001.  Another quality album from the guys.  There's a recent DVD out as well. 

Eno, Brian    Ambient 1 Music For Airports - as much as Plateaux clicked with me I never added this one to my collection.  Then the first one I did was a Bang The Gong version.  I figured it was about time to get a copy of the original in 2008.

Eno, Brian    Another Green World - this one and Before And After Science were the ones that cemented me as a fan.  Some of his earlier stuff could be a bit hard to digest.  Hell some of this stuff and his later stuff as well.  But when it is at it's best it's top notch.

Genesis    Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, The - oddly enough there is actual Enossification on a little of this album whatever the hell that means.  I think it was a synth contribution to Silent Sorrow In Empty Boats.  I still find it odd that this album hasn't clicked with fans of Gabriel era Genesis the way it did with me.  It almost is in the same vein as The Wall except predating it and I just like it better. 

Joachim Kuhn Band    Sunshower - there are two jazz/rock fusion albums Kuhn did that earns him a spot on the archives.  A fantastic keyboardist and it has Jan Akkerman and the music is greak JRF that won't give you FRA.  I've brought him up before a while back and was told that he was too much of a jazz man to be here.  That should be rectified.

Jobson, Eddie/Zinc    The Green Album, The - and he actually had Gary Green on one track.  Well, I guess it wouldn't be a proper green album without him, eh?  Probably has a bit too much of that '80's sound to it and not quite UK enough if you know what I mean.  A great companion album to this one is Theme Of Secrets.  Similar themes going on. 

McLachlan, Sarah    Wintersong - I passed on this one as I do with most proggy Christmas albums.  I have but a few but I save them as a Christmas music antedote.

Nice, The    Elegy - kind of Nice scraps. Hang On To A Dream was really good for the most part.  The version ELP did for the Return To Manticore box set is better.

Phideaux    the great leap - kind of weird.  Doomsday Afternoon was supposed to be the second part in a trilogy but I think Mr. Deaux has pretty much abandoned the trilogy at this point.  The promised third album has not been, uh, forthcoming.  Still if you're at the station and you hop on the Afternoon train I think you will enjoy this one, too.

Roxy Music    For Your Pleasure - lots of fans of this one.  I like the post Eno stuff better despite being an Eno fan.

Tibbetts, Steve    Yr - I first discovered Steve thanks to college radio.  Georgia Tech's, I think.  This was his second and was the only of the first two to get re-released on the ECM label.  The cover art wasn't nearly as good though,  And Steve would veer off from the direction of his first two into something more ECM compatible.  Probably his most proggy.

Triumvirat    Spartacus (Remaster) - yeah yeah yeah, ELP clones/imitators.  Still good music if that doesn't bother you.


Edited by Slartibartfast - February 16 2011 at 20:01

New ones this morning:
Amos, Tori    American Doll Posse - keep wondering when this lady will run out of new tunes.  Has yet to put out an album I didn't like.  I was a little bit worried when she kind of repeated the Strange Little Girls cover art concept.

Anderson, Laurie    Mister Heartbreak - my first.  Odd stuff and not for everyone.  Gabriel, Belew, and Laswell are on this one.  That in and of itself makes this a worthy album.  Plus with all the sucky stuff happening in the '80's musically...

Davis, Miles + 19    Miles Ahead - there's a few Miles albums that are essential in my collection.  This one isn't bad, but it isn't one of them.  If I'd been alive and a music nut at the time I'd like to think that I would be big into Miles.

Di Meola, Al/John McLaughlin/Paco de Lucia    Friday Night In San Francisco - three guys playing acoustic guitar as speed freaks.

Glass, Philip    Einstein on the Beach - four CD discs worth of material.  Wholly cow!

Hansson, Bo    Attic Thoughts - I don't know what to think of this one and I can't access the attic here.  Good album, but if you could only have one Hansson I'd have to recommend The Magician's Hat.

Jethro Tull    Stand Up (Remaster) - the original LP actually had a pop up of the guys when you opened the gatefold cover.  Moving away from the blues and into the prog territory.

Metheny, Pat Group    Way Up, The - gets a lot of praise around here but after his earlier stuff I find the stuff he's doing these days merely OK.

Morse, Steve Band    StressFest - Steve's another one of those artists who seems less inspired than he used to be.

Wyatt, Robert    dondestan (revisitied) - Robert's one of those artists who sounds better in the studio than live.  Excellent studio album.  Plus bonus interview video on the disc.



Edited by Slartibartfast - March 22 2011 at 19:52

The Nice isn't for everyone, but I became a big ELP fan when I first got into prog so it was a natural place to go for more music in a similar vein. 

Loading up another set:

Amos, Tori    Tales of a Librarian - mostly a sort of best of album but it comes with a decent set of not released before and one alternate mix of a song.

Beatles, The    Let It Be - a bit of a mixed bag of songs.  The good stuff is really good, like Across The Universe, The Long And Winding Road.  Then there's some that I just don't care for like I Me Mine, One After 909.

Belew, Adrian    Young Lions - teams up with Bowie for a couple songs.  Good basic Belew.

Coryell, Larry    Restful Mind, The - Coryell meets Oregon.  A nice set of mellow acoustic music.

Davis, Miles    E.S.P. - I've built up a huge Miles collection over the years.  This one isn't a particular stand out as I like the fusion stuff better.  I'm going to attempt an ESP joke here.  It stands for extra skin pigment.  Hope it isn't offensive.

Davis, Miles    Sorceror - another one of those albums that is good jazz for sure but it's still really hard to surpass Kind Of Blue.

Djam Karet    Burning The Hard City - a great intro for the metally inclined who haven't tried this band out.  Not one of my favorites though precisely because it is more of a metal drenched album, which isn't to say I don't like it.

Focus    Hamburger Concerto - a highly regarded Focus album on this site.  Deservedly so.

Gabriel, Peter    I - Peter can get out of Genesis, but he hadn't totally got the Genesis out of Peter Gabriel.  He'd taken the band off in a different direction with The Lamb and he just kept on going.

Glass, Phillip    Glassworks - Glass ain't for everyone but I think a lot of prog fans here might actually like this one if they don't know it and give it a try.

Hackett, Steve & The Underworld Orchestra    Metamorpheus - modern classical.

no-man    wild opera - one of many I got when I went on a no-man binge.  It's all good stuff, but if I go on an artist binge stuff usually just don't stand out.

Porcupine Tree    Signify - my second PT album.  Got the double disc version in my collection.  After getting In Absentia and this one I was hooked.

Tangerine Dream    Electronic Meditation - another one of those I keep not because I particularly like it but just because of it's historical significance: only one with Klause and TD's first.  I kind of cringe whenever it comes up in rotation.  Maybe this time it will be different when I listen to it but I wouldn't count on it.  I know it has some devoted fans here though.

Spock's Beard    Gluttons For Punishment - my only SB album to date.  I thought it might be a good intro point to the band.  It's not bad, but neither has it moved me enough to explore the band further.  Maybe some other day...


Edited by Slartibartfast - March 22 2011 at 19:52

Who Else? has to be a favorite of mine from the first three comebacks.  But man, Tal really meshed with Jeff on E & C. 

Zep I didn't get much into when I was in high school as I wasn't in much with the "freak" crowd, which I recall had a big bunch of Zep fans.  Pretty much a loner as far as "peers" went.  My brother was about three years older and I ended up becoming great friends with some of his friends due to prog and other things.

I'm thinking of a starter Nice to recommend...
Probably Ars.  They lost one member but I think it's a more fun album.

Beck, Jeff    Who Else! - Jeff's comeback album.  Hate to say it but I prefer his '70's stuff more until you get to Emotion And Commotion.

Dimeola, Al    Electric Rendezvous - the last of an era sort of for solo Dimeola.  Saw this tour live and actually happened to be walking up to the venue from the back when Al came in.  Didn't get to meet him but a nice coincidence.

Eno, Brian    Thursday Afternoon - well I know what I'm going to playing tomorrow afternoon.  I always like to save this one for a Thursday afternoon.  It came up when I was loading up tonight.

Isham, Mark    Vapor Drawings - my first encounter with Mark's music was the soundtrack for Never Cry Wolf.  His synths really had a cold Arctic sound to them and was very influential for my own playing.  Has lots of similar material.  He also plays trumpet and is a big Miles Davis fan.

Jethro Tull    20 Years of J.T.: The Radio Archives and Rare Tracks - I believe all the rare tracks have been put on the remasters as bonus tracks, which is totally cool.  They're pretty good and I guess rare no more.

Led Zeppelin    Presence - OK the "presence" appears to be a bong.  I don't buy for one minute that it's some kind of alien object or something.  This was my first Zep CD.  It took a while before I started to get more.  This was primarily due to their overexposure.

Levin, Tony    pieces of the sun - if Waters Of Eden was too mellow for you, Tony rocks a bit more on this one.  I really like the version of Larry Fast's Phobos on here.  Larry's the synth dude on this one.

Mays, Lyle    Street Deams - snooze fest.  The two Mays solo albums I have just don't excite me.  Pat bristles at being called a jazz fusion artist.  Here's his buddy doing just the kind of jazz fusion I think he would despise.  I keep it because I got it used really cheap.

Nektar    Sunday Night at London Roundhouse - this one's the original release which has some studio tracks not on the two disc recent re release.  Nice to have those if you like Nektar and can get a copy.  Roye did a great job with the new one.  Nektar was a band best seen live in those days.  You can get a tasting of it on the reunion DVD.  Great live set even without the visuals.

Nice, The    Five Bridges - I guess this qualifies as their most classical oriented effort, although the mix of classical and rock was for the most part their trademark.

Nirvana    Incesticide - few people here like this band.  I wonder if it's the same amount that like the Nirvana that is here which I've never heard any of.  I gave the band a shot after I heard a Tori Amos cover.  Of course used copies of their albums are easy to get cheap.  Not a regular studio release but some good stuff all the same. 

Phideaux    Fiendish - my phirst Phideaux.  The opening track really grabbed my attention.  I think it may have been those guitar riffs going back and forth between the speakers.



Edited by Slartibartfast - February 02 2011 at 21:53

and you still haven't repeated any song once right?

WalterDigsTunes wrote: Slartibartfast wrote: Bowie, David    Buddha of Suburbia, The - not one of his more progressive ventures but decent music all the same. Have you read the liner notes to this record? I think they highlight just how adventurous this project is (particularly when compiled to the modus operandi of his 80s and Tin Machine output).

My version didn't come with any liner notes, but I can always get the scoop online.

Moshkito, thanks for the suggestions.  Currently in holding pattern as far as exploring new music.  As soon as the house repairs are completed, I'll be moving the hell out of this apartment and I've got a large enough collection to move.   That's it currently in my signature:

Hopefully in about a month it will be in a totally new configuration.  These are all going to have to be above the level that the house flooded to because it could happen again.   Fortunately almost all of them were. 


Edited by Slartibartfast - February 02 2011 at 21:01

Slartibartfast wrote: Horn, Paul Featuring Egberto Gismonti and Nexus    Altitiude of the Sun, The - I don't know Horn, but long acquainted with Gismonti.  Nice mellow instrumental.