Slartibartfast's Magical Music Random Load Blog

I liked Aginor's contribution with the emoticon thingy.


And new for today:
Budd, Harold    Room, The - many mellow variations on a theme.  Maybe I'll name some of the rooms in the repaired and renovated house after some of these.

De Grassi, Alex    World's Getting Loud, The - Alex was at his best with his Windham Hill albums.  Nice mellow acoustical guitar stuff. 

Focus    Focus III - the guys were on a roll and had two discs worth of stuff.  All good but other albums I like better and other less of course.

Ozric Tentacles    Spice Doubt - well what can you say about an Ozric album other than really sound alike.  Good high-energy stoner music, which may be an oxymoron.

Phideaux    Doomsday Afternoon - I got into Phideaux shortly before this one came out.  A little bummed that the trilogy doesn't seem likely to see completion but I like all the albums that came out in it's stead.

Ponty, Jean-Luc    Open Mind - what can you say?  Ponty's 80's albums pretty much helped make the 80's more tolerable for prog fans even though he was slouching towards the 80's sound, whatever the hell that was.

Shadowfax    Too Far To Whisper - seems like they were drifting back into Windham Hill mode with this one.  The Dreams Of Children seemed to have them drifting back further into Watercourse Way territory.

Stereolab    Aluminum Tunes - these guys and gals have produced a lot of supplemental material outside of their regular album releases.  Thankful they usually combine the stuff and release it as an album length or longer affair. 

Moody Blues, The    Every Good Boy Deserves Favour - seems like their best stuff was the stuff that gained the largest popular success in their first phase.  But as always for their first phase, a lot of quaint stuff.


Edited by Slartibartfast - April 27 2011 at 19:58

Fripp & Eno    Beyond Even (1992-2006)  - I was going to add this one to the discography but apparently it already has been but one version goes by a different name.  One of those albums I didn't know about until I ran across it browsing at the local brick and mortar music store - Decatur CD. It's your basic Fripp and Eno.  The last track Cross Crisis in Lust Storm is one of my favorites.  Really heavy and totally unlike the typical F & E track.  Kind of like Pigeon Drummer on no-man's Schoolyard Ghosts.

Happy the Man    Crafty Hands - these guys put out some really intense mostly instrumental albums back in the late '70's.  Not as well known as they should have been.  Went on a big hiatus and came back with The Muse Awakens in 2004, which is every bit as good as their first two official releases and the vocals aren't as corny sounding as on the first two.

Happy the Man    Death's Crown - an interesting concept album but beware, it's an unpolished demo.  And the sound quality isn't disappointing.

Howe, Steve    Not Necessarily Acoustic - when Steve steps out of the Yes waters he shows that he really has a more diversity to his musical styles.  A live assortment of his solo material and some Yes thrown in, but I really didn't need another version of Roundabout.

Oregon    Moon and Mind - this one is fairly new to my collection.  Hasn't made a big impression on me, but still basic good Oregon.  The Walcott era was the best although their later material isn't bad.

Praxis    Transmutatuion (Mutatis Mutandis) - Praxis may be a bit too funky for the average prog fan but I've never heard Laswell do a bad project.

Talisma    Corpus - another one of those bands that hasn't had the recognition they deserve.  If you like dense prog mostly instrumental stuff.  One of my favorite discoveries on PA.

XTC    Skylarking - these guys are going to be sorely missed.  Apparently Moulding isn't interested in doing music any more.  But from Settlement forward, the new releases really marked my life.

Yorke, Thom    Eraser, The - due to the oversized carboard sleeve that put it in the side of my carrying case I keep forgetting to play this one.  Radiohead are still better as a team than solo, but this was a nice one to listen to while I waiting for the next Radiohead release.



Edited by Slartibartfast - April 27 2011 at 19:57

Edited by Slartibartfast - April 10 2011 at 09:17

May be running into some duplicates as I misplaced my flash drive and did the past few draws from an older copy.
Abercrombie, John    Night - Jan Hammer is on this one and also on Timeless, which I like better.'

Amos, Tori    Strange Little Girls Tori does some interesting covers and Adrian Belew plays on this one.  Way cool.
I really like the way Neil Young's Heart Of Gold is deconstructed.  Also does a cover of Raining Blood which is really creepy as it came out right after the 911 attacks.

Byrne, David    Complete Score from "The Catherine Wheel", The - easily David's most progressive album.  Eno and Belew are actually together on a couple of tracks.

Col. Bruce Hampton & The Quark Alliance    Give Thanks To Chank - Chank you very much. If you like it weird, you'll like this although I'd recommend trying his earlier albums first.

Jarre, Jean Michel    Oxygene - one of his better ones and I think the one that really got people to take notice as it were.

King Crimson    Nightwatch, The - damn shame this wasn't filmed.  Prime live Crimson.

Mahavishnu Orchestra    Apocalypse - I think this is the best MO album.  I really liked their previous lineup, but John achieved a really intense album.

McLachlan, Sarah    Afterglow - I started to find her music less interesting after Fumbling.  I don't know if it was just because other music happening out there was more interesting.  She was definitely going for more mainstream songs.

Metheny, Pat & Lyle Mays    As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls - Metheny and Mays go together like peanut butter and jelly.  I don't know why this isn't named as a trio.  Nana Vasconcelos is an incredible percussionist.  I saw him play a solo show live and the amount of percussion gadgets he had in his collection was freakin' amazing.

Primus    Antipop - I have yet to hear a Primus album I didn't enjoy and this is no exception.  Claypool is another one of those who like to make weird music and an awesome bass player to boot.

Varney, Mark Project    Truth In Shredding - a weird album.  Varney isn't one of the musicians.  But we do have Allan Holdsworth in the lead.

Yes    Fragile (Remaster) - not much you can say about this album that hasn't already been said.  A nice mixture of band songs and stuff by the individuals.  One song would go on to be overplayed on the radio.  Still it is a good song.

Zappa, Frank    Lumpy Gravy - Frank was rather adventurous from early on.  Hard to describe this one other than a really well done not too serious instrumental piece.



Edited by Slartibartfast - April 27 2011 at 19:57

Belew, Adrian    Inner Revolution - Adrian's one of those artists where I buy the newest release of as soon as it comes out and it takes me back to the time I got it.  This one came out at a transitional time in my life.  A job that I thought would last for the rest of my life had come to an end.  I had to move back to my Mom's house to get by.  Had been out of work for a year and then I got a great contract job in mid year.  Some of the lyrics may be a bit corny, but Adrian is really good at songwriting.

Buckethead    Monsters and Robots - I went on a head binge and this is one of the better ones.  Predecessor of Bucket Of Bernie Brains.

Burton, Gary    Reunion - kind of a snooze fest for me.  Good for background music.  But you would think a Metheny-Burton album would yield more interesting music.  Speaking of which:

Burton, Gary Quintet    Dreams So Real - this one is much more interesting and inspired than the one above.  Progressive jazz for sure.

Gentle Giant    Playing the Fool - a very good live album.  Almost a swan song.  Before they stripped down their instrumentation.  You'd be a fool not to get this fool.

Hampton, Col. Bruce    One Ruined Life Of A Bronze Tourist - I'll take this one over Trout Mask any day.  I compare the two because they are both difficult listening music.  This one is easier difficult listening music.

Holdsworth, Allan    i.o.u. - another one of those albums that brings me back.  He played at a really crappy punk club on this tour.  I got to meet him the band and get an album autographed.  I hate to say this, but after this album I find his later releases to be less interesting than this and what came before.

Oldfield, Mike    Tubular Bells III - he probably should have just used the TB moniker for the original and the two other variations but of course we know why he did it.  This one made a stronger impression on me than II.  I don't have any problems with the other ones except the orchestral one wasn't as good as it might have been.

Pink Floyd    Division Bell, The - yet another memorable album.  I went to see them at an open air stadium on a rainy day.  I brought a really good umbrella along and no one was allowed to enter with their umbrellas so there were a bunch left behind near the entrance.  I should have concealed mine underneath my trench coat.  I'm not sure where they all went but there weren't any after the show left.  Maybe they all took a trip together somewhere.  That great umbrella gig in the sky perhaps?

Police, The    Ghost In The Machine - I consider these guys to have moved into crossover territory with their later albums.  Their last three are essential for my collection.

Premiata Forneria Marconi    World Became The World, The - I don't know why their English language stuff gets so disrespected.  This is a fine album and Sinfield came up with lyrics that weren't translations of the Italian language versions of the songs that were Italian first.  I had to get both versions of this album.  They aren't identical in tracks.  My original LP of this I got at a used record store.  It looked pristine but it was either a really bad pressing or someone had been playing it with a really crappy needle.

Soft Machine    Spaced - some albums you get when they come out and they remind you of the time.  This one I had in my truck CD player when two vehicles tried to occupy a space on Buford Highway at a yellow light.  I was t-boned and the lady in the other vehicle freaked out, jumped out of her car, and the car went coasting down the road unoccupied.  This happened shortly after the 9/11 attacks when I was on the way to work in the morning.  Oh, about the album.  Extremely difficult listening music and I would not recommend it to anyone.  I mean seriously.  It might cause you to get in a bad car accident.

Tangerine Dream    Optical Race - weird how in this draw I got a lot of memorable albums.  This is yet another one.  Saw them on tour for this one.  Great light show.  I was living in an apartment in a low rent complex.  Almost completed college.  I love TD's '70's stuff, but I like their '80's as well.

Vangelis    Voices - one of his better one's for my taste.  I may elaborate after I give it a spin. 


Edited by Slartibartfast - April 27 2011 at 19:57

You know my first encounter with Nirvana was an SNL appearance, that and Beavis and Butthead.  I know there was a lot of buzz going on and they were getting a lot of radio play.  Were they the best thing to hit the grunge scene?  Don't know and don't care.  I do like the albums I have and that's enough. 

By the way, thanks for participating in the blog.  More fun if you get some feedback.

eeeeoooooeeeeoooooohhhoooooeeeeooo


Edited by Slartibartfast - March 27 2011 at 14:14

^^ Slarti, I don't mind admitting I am an oblivious idiot.  I live in Seattle, and when I heard of Nirvana I had no idea who/what they were.  But when I heard Nevermind I knew it was special, i.e., Beatles quality melodies.  I've sort of wised up since I suppose.

The random load will be off for a couple of weeks as all my cd's are boxed up.  I could do it virtually, but that just wouldn't be the same. Changed my mind and picked one out for immediate listening:

Tim Finn Tim Finn.


Edited by Slartibartfast - March 22 2011 at 19:52

Since I've put on a moratorium on new acquisitions sometimes I feel a little jealous about those keeping up with the new releases.  Somtimes I don't.

Afro Celt Sound System    Volume 5: Anatomic - not bad but I'm thinking I didn't need to go beyond the first three.

Burton, Gary    Good Vibes - early Burton and good vibes indeed.

Doors, The    Soft Parade, The - these guys seem to have some cheesy songs and some grate ones on all the albums I have.

Europa String Choir    Marching Ants - I think these guys are a gateway drug for me to Univers Zero

Focus    Moving Waves - I still have a hard time believing that Hocus Pocus made it to the commercial radio.  This was before I became a serious prog fan.

Gentle Giant    Free Hand - not my favorite, but damn close.

Gong    Other Side of the Sky 'A Collection' - hadn't picked up a lot of Allen era stuff.  I like this collection.

Jethro Tull    A + Slipstream - yeah, some people don't consider this a true Tull album because it was a bit of a radical departure from Stormwatch.  I am not one of them and you are not one of us not one of us no you're not one of us.  OK so PG did better stuff when he moved away from the older stuff.

Jethro Tull    Crest of a Knave - never made a good impression on me nor do I hate it.  I think things came to a conclusion for me with A in a way. 

Mahavishnu Orchestra    Birds of Fire (Remaster) - their swan song studio album of sorts?  The live one that came after wasn't too bad though and now you can get the studio album that might have been.

Pastorius, Jaco    Jaco Patorius (Remaster) - spectacular solo album.  As time wore on JP would have a hard time keeping things together.

Stereolab    Emperor Tomato Ketchup - I'll keep singing the praises for this band and they will continue to not be added.

Weather Report    Sweetnighter - the Jaco period will continue to be my favorite, but Miroslav is no slacker.







Edited by Slartibartfast - March 22 2011 at 19:53

Slartibartfast wrote: Kinda hard for the Doors to top their debut.  Joe's goes on a bit too long but then again there is nothing I would pick to cut.  Joni was doing some of her best stuff around that era.  Others I'd recommend are Hissing Of Summer Lawns and Shadows And Light on DVD.  The CD is good too, but seeing her with Jaco and Pat Metheny was what really got me into her stuff.

I dunno, I like Strange Days and Morrison Hotel. Admittedly they did start running short of material due to them putting out albums every 6 months or so. I think that L.A. Woman is a perfect way for Jimbo to bow out on. No telling if they could have topped that album had he lived. I do like the music that the remaining guys(Ray,Robbie and John) came up for An American Prayer.

I still have a soft spot for them. They got me into music.