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Post by dolly on Feb 24, 2006 14:24:40 GMT -5
I didn't go for my bath yet.....
Yeah - I find Ten almost vomit-inducing. Black is a songthat I love, but it's just so squeaky and yucky...I just can't listen to it.
Vitalogy - that was the first Pearl Jam album I bought. Half great, half shit. But yeah, in terms of a better sound, too right. More rawk, less cheese, please.
I've stuck the VGPS mono disc on - I see your point Ken - its really quite tinny. They did a good job with the remastering. And I haven't the best speakers.
Now I need to get clean - I'm going stick on Give the People What they Want and lather up ;D
Edit - can't live with those type-os.
And perhaps 'vomit-inducing' was a bit strong.... it's not that bad. But yeah - too much.
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Post by Kensterberg on Feb 24, 2006 14:28:49 GMT -5
But before I go ... I do need to clarify one thing ...
I'm not talking about "over-produced" or overly "clean" production. I'm talking about meeting minimal fidelity standards. Those klassic Kink records SOUND like shit ... just like David Live. They weren't well recorded in the first place, unlike (say) Vitalogy ... or the "Revolution" single by the Beatles. There's a great example of fuzzy guitars and a gritty/dirty sound that is still in hi-fidelity. Similarly, it isn't painful to listen to Clapton's sixties recordings over a good stereo, unlike most of the Kinks' sixties recordings. Hell, for that matter even Lola is (I assume intentionally) less than great sounding. Compare it to Who's Next, for example.
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Post by Kensterberg on Feb 24, 2006 14:30:38 GMT -5
And FTR ... I don't like the production on Ten either. Hell, I don't like Ten, period. Every song on there is better live ... esp. Black.
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Post by Paul on Feb 24, 2006 14:43:38 GMT -5
Ken, did you check that link out I posted in the Pearl Jam thread?
They play a snippet of "World Wide Suicide"; the sound (sonicly speaking) is back to Vitalogy.
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Post by bowiglou on Feb 25, 2006 1:39:00 GMT -5
I am actually listening to a 'early' Kinks casette Bama sent me a few years ago, and Ken is kinda right..the production is very 60's lo-fi.......but I still like it!!
and I thought Ten was 70s sludge rock.......got interested in PJ with their sophmore LP: Vs., and specifically 'Daughter'..........
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Post by Paul on Feb 25, 2006 10:30:15 GMT -5
I am actually listening to a 'early' Kinks casette Bama sent me a few years ago, and Ken is kinda right..the production is very 60's lo-fi.......but I still like it!! and I thought Ten was 70s sludge rock.......got interested in PJ with their sophmore LP: Vs., and specifically 'Daughter'.......... the Kinks in the early days were kinda low-fi, but you need to hear the remastered cds; they sound far superior to the tapes Bama sent. I actually found some of the tapes he sent, and they don't sound so great; plus they're recorded on normal bias tapes which has far more hiss than hi bias tapes. |
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Post by phil on Feb 25, 2006 10:35:19 GMT -5
I actually found some of the tapes he sent, and they don't sound so great;
plus they're recorded on normal bias tapes which has far more hiss than hi bias tapes. Mines sounded like 10th generation copies ... I remember feeling sorry for Bama ... The trouble he went to make those tapes that were pretty much unlistenable ... 
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Post by Paul on Feb 25, 2006 10:44:27 GMT -5
I actually found some of the tapes he sent, and they don't sound so great;
plus they're recorded on normal bias tapes which has far more hiss than hi bias tapes. Mines sounded like 10th generation copies ... I remember feeling sorry for Bama ... The trouble he went to make those tapes that were pretty much unalienable ... exactly. I honestly never gave those tapes much of a chance other than a few casual listens. For one, there were too many songs for me to handle at the time, and two, they sounded terrible. Fortunately those tapes did spark my interest, and I already had the Lola album (original pressing, not remastered), so I decided to buy Face to Face (remastered) and haven't looked back since. They have simply been one of the greatest joys my ears have ever come across. |
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Post by dolly on Feb 28, 2006 14:49:09 GMT -5
I have Other People's Lives!!!!!!!!!! Giving it a first listen now - so far so good. Can't stop for more in depth thoughts though - I have to get on the floor and draw a huge map of Europe. If I can't make a lesson on the European Union interesting, I can at least make it pretty by putting up maps and flags everywhere.  |
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Post by Paul on Feb 28, 2006 15:12:19 GMT -5
Sweet! I just picked the album up myself...
After giving it the once over my favorite songs are: "Next Door Neighbour", "Other People's Lives" and "Thanksgiving Day".
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Post by Paul on Mar 2, 2006 9:30:04 GMT -5
I'm a selfish prick and wanted this thread back on page 1.
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Post by dolly on Mar 2, 2006 15:14:20 GMT -5
And it goes top again....
This thread should be the busiest on this damned community - but alas, that will never be. Still, although I'm not one of the 'don't stray off topic' gang, I'd hate to see it slip away from Ray for too long.
Right, so, Other People's Lives...
Only had two listens so far due to a shed load of marking and the fact that I keep forgetting to take my MP3 player with me. But tomorrow.... my thoughts, shall appear, here.
For now - I just love The Tourist. I heard him play it, and I loved it when I heard it. That hasn't changed. Next Door Neighbour - he played that too, complete with funny little asides in between lines (that escape me right now) so that's one of my favourites and stands up well on CD. Also,
"You feel shite/ The air bites/Oh, will I ever learn/Your ear's deaf/Your girl's left/Never to return."
Excellent.
I intend to talk more in depth tomorrow. Oh yes. But now... Alias series 2!!!!
Definitely agree with Bow though that it's a fine fine piece of work that deserves the critical acclaim I'm so pleased to see it getting.
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Post by RocDoc on Mar 2, 2006 23:37:52 GMT -5
POP MUSIC
After years on hiatus, Davies is stuck in neutral on `Lives'
By Greg Kot
Tribune music critic
Published February 19, 2006
Ray Davies' influence as a songwriter with the Kinks has now spread across at least three generations of British rock bands; it would be impossible to imagine the Pretenders, Blur or even the Arctic Monkeys without him.
But it has been more than a decade since he released a collection of new songs, which makes his first solo album, "Other People's Lives" (V2), out Tuesday, something of an event for connoisseurs of sharply crafted pop tunes.
Those fans will happily gravitate toward character studies such as "Next Door Neighbour," "The Tourist" and "Thanksgiving Day," in which one of the more astute observers of British manners and eccentricities again demonstrates his prowess. There's a broader story at work as well, with Davies weaving these profiles of the everyday through a loose narrative about personal transformation.
The 61-year-old singer has weathered some recent trauma: the demise of the Kinks, a self-described "crisis of confidence," and a shooting during a robbery near his new home in New Orleans. "After the Fall" suggests as much: "There will be wrecks to clear in this war zone."
In "Is There Life After Breakfast?" he gives himself a pep talk, and by "Over My Head," he's on the road to being transformed ("Left it all for a new location, so you could start again").
But for all the apparent urgency in these lyrics, "Other People's Lives" falls flat. The singer's misanthropic streak gets the better of him on the cynical title song, a rant so obvious (against tabloid media) it would seem to be beneath a writer of his caliber. Similarly, "Stand-Up Comic" could be read as a putdown of the singer's audience, complete with thick Cockney accent ("I'm the lowest common denominator").
More troubling is the neutered music. Davies' words are dropped over arrangements that are merely serviceable, the sound of a '70s bar band burrowing toward last call. There are exceptions; "The Getaway (Lonesome Train)" drapes atmosphere thick as a Louisiana swamp over a haunted lament. It's the most distinctive moment on a record that never quite falters, but never quite builds to a knockout punch either. The snappy melodies, cascading ballads and fuzzed-up rockers that characterized the Kinks' best work are lacking.
The predictable, stolid approach may be the point, though. After all these years away from recordmaking, Davies sounds like an icon happy to have regained his footing, but not quite ready to sprint again.
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gregkot@aol.com
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Post by Paul on Mar 3, 2006 10:58:42 GMT -5
I enjoy the new album, and there are some damn fine songs on it; however, I'm not a fan of the production....way too slick/polished for my taste.
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Post by dolly on Mar 3, 2006 11:39:21 GMT -5
Fair comment on the production, Paul. Though having mainly listened to it 'on the run', complete with background traffic noise, and not really having had time to listen to the CD more than once on a proper stereo, I can't really comment on that at the moment. On first impressions though, it's not nauseatingly slick. Not like 'Ten'  Doc, much as I love ya, what's the point of just posting a negative review without making a single comment on it? Do you agree with the reviewer? Have you actually listened to the album yet? I'm not against negative comments - for example, can't say I'm at all keen on Stand-Up Comic, from my listenings so far (maybe it's a grower), but c'mon. The cut, paste and run is why I rarely bother with CE. I find those posts pointless and they usually get the scroll treatment. So.....speak to us, Doc! |
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