QUIRKEH.
Printed From: Progarchives.com
Category: Progressive Music Lounges
Forum Name: Prog Music Lounge
Forum Description: General progressive music discussions
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=7137
Printed Date: August 14 2025 at 01:46
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 11.01 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: QUIRKEH.
Posted By: The Hemulen
Subject: QUIRKEH.
Date Posted: June 07 2005 at 11:42
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I love quirky albums. Albums with a twisted sense of fun and what is
musically “acceptable”. Albums that allow countless genres collide as
if it were perfectly natural. Albums that say “yeah… I like the samba
vibe… it could just do with a little more sackbut.” I therefore give
you thirty of my favourite quirky albums in no order at all! Note - These aren't exclusively prog albums, but that's not the point. Focus – Hamburger Concerto  Delicate baroque melodies juxtaposed with meaty jazz-rock solo competitions, whistling, yodelling, and latin chanting... This is a quirky record and no mistake. Gentle Giant – Octopus  Maybe not their best album but certainly their most quirky. Every track is distinctly odd in its own special way. I've chosen the controversial non-Dean US cover here. Why? 'Cause it's quirkier.  Bonzo Dog Band – The Doughnut in Granny’s Greenhouse  Kings of British Pointlessness! Cardiacs – A Little Man and a House and The Whole World Window  A hyperactive pronk album with influences from Gentle Giant, Van Der Graaf, and darling of the avant garde Frank Zappa. Speaking of which... Frank Zappa – Lumpy Gravy   The way I see it, Barry, this should be a very dynamite show... 5uu’s – Hunger’s Teeth  Dark, humorous and uncompromising. Touching on genres as far flung as surf rock and barber shop in a distinctly American RIO package. Alamaailman Vasarat – Käärmelautakunta  "Horny and punky secret agent brass music"? "Kosher kebab jazz"? Count me in! Faust - Faust  Oh yes indeed. Banda Elastica - Los Awakates de Nepantla  Relatively unknown Mexican RIO/fusion band. A lot more creative than you might expect. Samla Mammas Manna – Maltid  Am I alone in my love of the vocals on this album? Forever Einstein – Down With Gravity  It ought not to be listenable, but by 'eck it is! Captain Beefheart – Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller)  Sh*ts on Trout Mask Replica. French TV – The Violence of Amateurs  You can tell they're having a whale of a time on this record. Gryphon – Raindance  Are you surprised to see them listed amongst this lot? I'm surprised the toured with Yes! Robert Wyatt – Shleep  Undoubtedly the bearded-and-wheeled one's most underrated album. Höyry-Kone - Hyönteisiä Voi Rakastaa  To beging with you may think of Magma or King Crimson. Track four's more likely to bring to mind Aphex Twin. Get the point? Area - 1978 Gli Dei Se Ne Vanno Gli Arrabbiati Restano!  Not their best but certainly their most musically diverse. Taal – Skymind  I will not stop mentioning this album until other people start to instead. Kevin Ayers – Shooting at the Moon  Everything from French cafe pop to avant garde noise experiments. Lovely. Maxophone – Maxophone  A very creative Italian album. Fase seems to change style every four bars. Hamster Theatre – Carnival Detournement  RIO circus music. Rather contrived but a lot of fun for those who fancy it. Soft Machine – Vol 2  A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z *cough* The Residents - Duck Stab/Buster and Glenn  Giant eyes in top hats! What's not to love?! They Might Be Giants – Apollo 18  Designed for use with the shuffle function by containing a range of tiny, absurd bridges which may or may not punctuate the songs. Now THAT'S what I call creativity! Thinking Plague – In Extremis  Modern RIO at it's best. Sleepytime Gorilla Museum – Of Natural History  To hear is to understand. Or not. And wonder how on earth anyone ever could. What'll it be for you? The Muffins - Manna/Mirage  Very creatively arranged American canterbury. Nice recorder bits. Absolute Zero – Crashing Icons  If only every band could be as advenurous as this... SO! That's that. Apologies to dial-up users, but I adore a lot of these album covers and I thought it'd add the list a little something extra. If any of these look enticing then go out, try them and see! You might be surprised at just how good they are. |
Replies:
Posted By: Man Overboard
Date Posted: June 07 2005 at 11:53
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May I add Flying Food Circus to the list? It's basically Samla Mammas Manna.
------------- https://soundcloud.com/erin-susan-jennings" rel="nofollow - Bedroom guitarist". Composer, Arranger, Producer. Perfection may not exist, but I may still choose to serve Perfection. Commissions considered. |
Posted By: Mategra
Date Posted: June 07 2005 at 13:56
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I like the music of Gentle Giant, Cardiacs, 5uu's, Samla Mammas Manna, Gryphon, Hamster Theatre, Thinking Plague, The Residents and They Might Be Giants. I have yet to listen to Taal, Alamaailman Vasarat and Robert Wyatt. Sooner or later I will also revisit the worlds of Zappa, Focus and Beefheart (I didn't really understand them when I first encountered them 30 odd years ago). Funnily enough I have always liked music with a strong element of Zappa-ism, like the aforementioned Cardiacs and Godley & Creme (especially their first two albums):
Consequences and L One of the quirkiest things I've ever heard is kind of Beefheart-esque, though: http://eil.com/newGallery/Stump-A-Fierce-Pancake-302573.jpg"> A fierce Pancake by Stump (could be classified as Pronk).
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Posted By: bluetailfly
Date Posted: June 07 2005 at 14:01
What about Todd Rundgren's "A Wizard a True Star"? Pretty darn quirky....  ------------- "The red polygon's only desire / is to get to the blue triangle." |
Posted By: Syzygy
Date Posted: June 07 2005 at 15:34
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Slapp Happy's entire output is what you find when you look up 'quirky' in the dictionary. A fine and utterly unclassifiable album emerged from the same stable - Greaves and Blegvad's Kew Rhone, while Peter Blegvad has carved himself a niche as a singer songwriter with a remarkable gift for striking and poetic lyrics. Sun Ra lived his entire life out where the buses don't run, and released the maddest jazz in creation to prove it. Nobody really knows how many albums he made. Harry Partch and Moondog were another two great American iconoclasts who prove that Zappa and Beefheart were continuing a tradition as much as they were innovating. And David Thomas (Pere Ubu) is doing his best to keep the tradition alive. ------------- 'Like so many of you I've got my doubts about how much to contribute to the already rich among us...' Robert Wyatt, Gloria Gloom |
Posted By: Jimbo
Date Posted: June 07 2005 at 16:41
Wow, great list! I'll have to check out some of those  , thanks Trouserpress
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