Daring/odd albums on a major label
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Topic: Daring/odd albums on a major label
Posted By: Steven in Atlanta
Subject: Daring/odd albums on a major label
Date Posted: June 16 2009 at 11:21
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None of today's major labels - the few who remain - would dare to unleash such left-field sonic assemblies in 2009. But back in the '70s (and a few '60s), some bold A&R reps would sic some mighty odd music on our unprepared ears. Excluding the boutique/artist-controlled subsidiaries (e.g. Apple/Zapple, Bizarre/Straight, Rolling Stones, etc.), here are a few major label notables from my racks: CBS/Columbia Robert Wyatt - End of an Ear Soft Machine - Thirds The Hampton Grease Band - Music To Eat EMI Electric Light Orchestra - (1st album) RCA Lou Reed - Metal Machine Music London (U.S.) Touch Verve/MGM The Mothers - Freak Out Velvet Underground - & Nico I'll betcha there are plenty others. What ya got? |
Replies:
Posted By: rogerthat
Date Posted: June 16 2009 at 11:58
| While not perhaps quite as daring as some of the albums you mentioned, it's saying a lot that Master of Reality was released on the Warner Bros label, the heaviest album of its time and to date can still be considered some of the heaviest metal ever made. And the biggie: Tales From Topographic Oceans (Atlantic Records). A recent example I can think of is Kid A (Capital Records). |
Posted By: Moatilliatta
Date Posted: June 16 2009 at 12:35
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The Mars Volta, Radiohead and The Flaming Lips, just three examples, are all on Major labels and they release "left field sonic assemblies" in these modern times. ------------- www.last.fm/user/ThisCenotaph  
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Posted By: HolyMoly
Date Posted: June 16 2009 at 12:49
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How about "Disco Volante" by Mr. Bungle? That's some far-out sheet. ------------- My other avatar is a Porsche It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle if it is lightly greased. -Kehlog Albran |
Posted By: lazland
Date Posted: June 16 2009 at 13:44
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Major labels, as a rule, don't do daring/odd albums these days - the corporate culture has destroyed that. The example given of Kid A is not particularly relevant, given that the predecessor was one of the biggest selling LPs of all time - the successor was always going to be released, so it was not particularly brave of them. I really am struggling to think of a recent example. Most of the modern bands we love tend to go with the really brave innovators, i.e. the independents. I sincerely hope that the triumph of the internet will be the eventual demise of the major labels, who have been ripping us and artists off for years. ------------- Enhance your life. Get down to www.lazland.org Now also broadcasting on www.progzilla.com Every Saturday, 4.00 p.m. UK time! |
Posted By: Steven in Atlanta
Date Posted: June 16 2009 at 13:51
| All good bands with cool artsy statements (I own and enjoy most of your suggestions as well), but none had the remotely the "what the ... !?" quality that had no prior comparable product at the time. Guess we're all a little jaded now (I'm sure guilty on that front), but back then in the more impressionable '70s, albums like End of An Ear or Freak Out were not simply odd, they were bewildering! And on big corporate labels, no less! |
Posted By: BaldFriede
Date Posted: June 16 2009 at 14:48
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Nik Turner's "Xitintoday" on Charisma in 1977.
-------------  BaldJean and I; I am the one in blue. |
Posted By: HolyMoly
Date Posted: June 16 2009 at 15:51
Flaming Lips is a good call. Zaireeka (Warner Bros) is certainly an album that broke some serious ground, for its format alone. It's 4 CDs designed to be played simultaneously, which means that due to the nearly infinite playback possibilities (variations in volume, speaker placement, timing, etc), it will never sound the same way twice. ------------- My other avatar is a Porsche It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle if it is lightly greased. -Kehlog Albran |
Moatilliatta wrote:Posted By: The Quiet One
Date Posted: June 16 2009 at 16:25
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Not sure how big was Charisma Records, but that one released Pawn Hearts. Also, Gentle Giant were in Vertigo/Columbia/Capitol/Chrysalis records. Also, A Passion Play by Jethro Tull was released through Chrysalis Records. |
Posted By: TGM: Orb
Date Posted: June 16 2009 at 16:30
Pretty small as I understand it: If I'm right, the label was basically formed by Tony Stratton-Smith because no major label would sign the early VDGG. Genesis, Lindisfarne and VDGG's records were all, at least early on (not FGTR, though), released by it, so they had a lot of odd stuff. I think Hackett's solo career was initially released by them (Spectral Mornings for one). |
Posted By: BaldFriede
Date Posted: June 16 2009 at 16:34
And several Genesis albums were released on Charisma, like "Foxtrot", "Selling England by the Pound", "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway", "A Trick of the Tail", "Wind and Wuthering", "Live", "Seconds Out". Brand X also appeared on Charisma. The solo albums of Patrick Moraz, too. And yes, the early Hackett recordings. Some albums of Peter Hammill also appeared there. So maybe not a major label, but one with an impressive list of artists. I remember that my brother blindly bought any album that appeared on Charisma; he used to say that Charisma and Virgin were the best labels. Interestingly the Virgin label later was bought by Charisma. ------------- BaldJean and I; I am the one in blue. |
Posted By: brainerd
Date Posted: June 16 2009 at 17:52
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Mastodon's last two albums are up there with the most daring albums associated with a major label in the last few years, along with the bands Moatilliatta mentioned |
Posted By: The Quiet One
Date Posted: June 16 2009 at 18:00
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Posted By: BaldFriede
Date Posted: June 16 2009 at 18:17
------------- BaldJean and I; I am the one in blue. |